Catalyst
by sonomom
Summary: cat•a•lyst /ˈkatl-ist/ noun A person or thing that precipitates an event. Was it the sudden appearance of Ranger's daughter or the handsome, mysterious, new partner Stephanie had been assigned? Change was coming to RangeMan and change was coming for Stephanie. R/S HEA anticipated.
1. Chapter 1

_**I use them for fun and not for profit.** Thanks to my beta** jago ji**. She diligently corrects my mistakes and makes suggestions that frequently refine and enhance my story line. The only things she doesn't beta are my author's notes, and sometimes she does those retroactively! All mistakes are mine._

**Chapter 1**

Carlos Mañoso had a dilemma. As he stood in the doorway to his bedroom he remembered the last time he'd come home to find a woman in his bed. It had been over nine years since Stephanie found his apartment and used it as a safe house. The sight before him brought back memories and feelings long buried.

The athletic, but distinctly feminine, leg sticking out from the edge of the covers did not belong to Stephanie, but to his daughter. Tank had forewarned him he'd have company when he got home, so the sight of the leg, exactly matching his skin tone, did not disconcert him. What he hadn't been expecting was the muscular and very masculine leg, entwined around his daughter's.

There were a myriad of emotions flitting through his mind, and he was at a loss as to which one should dominate. Julie was eighteen. He couldn't decide if he was angry she was in _bed_ with a man, or if he was angry she and her lover were in _his_ bed. Tank hadn't mentioned she'd had a companion in tow when she'd arrived at RangeMan, and looking at the scene in front of him, he didn't blame Tank for not giving him the full story. Ranger hadn't been expected home until the next day, so Tank was probably planning on breaking the news in pieces, but when Ranger heard Julie was at RangeMan he rescheduled his last meeting. He made the trip home and arrived unexpectedly in the early hours of the morning.

The parallels between what he was seeing right now and the night he'd discovered Stephanie couldn't be denied. Both times he'd made a long drive in bad weather, and both times he'd arrived home to deal with a situation he wasn't emotionally equipped to deal with. Had Julie run away from home? Despite the good parenting of Ron and Rachel, Julie had exhibited an occasional rebellious streak. The apple didn't fall far from the tree.

He knew there'd recently been friction between Julie and Rachel over her choice of colleges, but when he last spoke with Rachel, she'd indicated she thought things were getting better. Julie had a strong will and a streak of determination that she'd inherited from him and, if her mind was set on doing something, she did it. None of that explained why she was in his bed with a man. It was unacceptable and she was going to find that out shortly.

He flipped the light on, folded his arms across his chest and leaned against the door jam. The man sat up first, eyes squinted against the bright light and Ranger reevaluated. He was a kid, not much older than Julie. He had blond hair cut short in a military style and, unless Ranger was mistaken, the slight rectangular ripple under his shirt was dog tags. Great. His daughter was sleeping with a soldier. He hoped like hell she didn't repeat her mother's mistake. He was too young to be a grandfather.

The kid blinked rapidly letting his eyes adjust to the sudden light. When he realized Ranger was staring straight at him he gulped and reached a hand out to rattle the sleeping form next to him. "Oh shit," the kid uttered. Ranger heard the softly spoken expletive and felt a small surge of satisfaction. He knew he looked intimidating and he was pleased to see the kid thought so, too. He would make short work of kicking the kid out and then he'd find out what the hell Julie was up to. What happened next took Ranger completely by surprise.

The kid threw back the covers and rose from the bed. He was wearing olive drab boxers which hung low on his hips and a grey t-shirt with ARMY in black letters across the front. He was tall, an inch or so taller than Ranger, and well-muscled. He approached Ranger with his hand extended.

"We weren't expecting you tonight, sir. I told Julie we should have gone to a hotel, but she insisted you wouldn't mind us staying here. I'm Scott Freeman, your son-in-law."

Ranger slowly unfolded his arms and stepped toward the soldier, because he was sure the kid was a soldier. It was easy to read both in his bearing and by the way he'd addressed Ranger, not to mention his choice of sleepwear. The expression on Ranger's face remained inscrutable as he silently reached out to shake hands with the young man.

Rustling covers on the bed drew Ranger's attention back to his daughter.

"Rang…uh, Dad, we didn't think you'd be back tonight," she said. She wasn't looking at her father. Her eyes were on the backside of her husband and the expression on her face caused Ranger's heart to hitch a little. He'd never been a proper father to her, although he'd been more involved in her life the past eight years since her kidnapping. Years ago, he'd turned the role of father over to Rachel's husband, Ron. Julie was looking at the man in front of Ranger with a very adult expression on her face. There was no little girl left in her anymore. He and Rachel had made a pretty child, but that child had matured into a beautiful young woman. A young woman in love with a young soldier, apparently.

He didn't know where to begin. "You're married?" The question wasn't directed specifically and Scott answered.

"We were married yesterday, because I'm being deployed in two days. I wanted to be able to provide for Julie while I was gone and getting married seemed the best way to do that."

"Where?" Ranger asked.

"In Miami."

"No, I mean where are you going?"

"Afghanistan."

"And Dad," Julie interjected. "When he gets back he's going to Ranger school, just like you did when you were in the Army."

Ranger had nothing to say, or maybe he had so much to say he didn't know where to start. There was a bone deep weariness creeping over him that might have had more to do with this situation than the six hour drive in wind and blinding rain he'd just made. "I'm going to find someplace to sleep for what's left of the night," he told them. "I'll meet you back here at 0900 and then we'll talk. Ella will bring breakfast up."

He turned and walked from his apartment and was immediately grateful he'd taken Ella's advice. The two staff apartments on the other half of the sixth floor that were added when they'd remodeled the building meant he wouldn't have to go far to find a bed.

He was feeling his age when the alarm went off the next morning. At forty-one he was still in prime physical condition, but he was starting to see and feel some signs of age. He'd had four hours of sleep last night and his body was telling him he needed more. Ten years ago, four hours would have been satisfactory to recharge his batteries for the upcoming day. Maybe he should cut himself some slack. If he totaled his hours of sleep in the last two days it might be eight. It had been a quick trip, but they'd finalized all the details.

He picked up the phone and called Ella. "I've got guests on seven," he told her. "You remember Julie, my daughter?"

"Of course!" Ella exclaimed. "She's here? I haven't seen her since that awful time, when she was abducted."

"Yeah," Ranger said. "She's here and she's not alone. She brought her husband."

"Her husband! Is she old enough to be married?"

"Legally," Ranger said. "It took me by surprise as well." Eight years had gone by quickly, albeit with a lot of changes at RangeMan. It was hard to realize there'd been changes in Julie, too. She'd been a brave little girl at the time of her last visit, but she was grown now. His daughter was grown, and he was the father of a married woman.

"Bring breakfast up to seven for the three of us around nine and I'll reintroduce you."

He called Tank next. "Can you be in my office in ten?" he asked.

"Yeah," Tank said. "I wasn't expecting you back. Did you see Julie?"

"I spoke with Julie and her…husband."

"Shit, man. I was going to intercept you when you came back and tell you. I had a good talk with him. He seems like a decent guy. Hard to believe she's old enough to be married."

"Hard to believe," Ranger said. "In ten." He disconnected and pulled his last change of clothing from his bag. He didn't like living out of a suitcase when he was in his own building. Julie and her husband wouldn't be sleeping in his bed tonight. He wasn't sure what was going to happen with his daughter, but he knew he'd be talking with Rachel before the day was out and he knew he would be sleeping in his bed tonight, alone.

Tank and Ranger met on the stairway at the entrance to five. Tank handed Ranger a cup of black coffee which he accepted gratefully, but wordlessly. Ranger had come down a flight and he was betting Tank had come up four. He'd been spending a lot of time down on one lately and Ranger thought Tank and Lula were renewing a friendship they had years ago. Buying Vinnie out and remodeling the first floor to accommodate the bonds office was one of the first and best decisions he'd made when he'd expanded RangeMan, and it had proved to be one of the most profitable changes.

Years of habit had him slipping behind his desk and Tank sprawling on one of the chairs facing it. Tank shot his friend a quick look and saw the fatigue on his face. "I'm sorry you got the surprise you did in the middle of the night," he told Ranger. "I didn't know how you'd react to Julie's unplanned visit, let alone her being married."

"It's alright," Ranger said. "I wouldn't have wanted you to turn them away, but I'm going to find them someplace else to stay until I can get this mess sorted out. I don't want them around RangeMan. She needs to be back at home and starting college in a few weeks."

"I don't think she's planning on going back home," Tank told him. "She said she's moving to Trenton for the time he's deployed. Hell, man, he says he's going to Ranger school. How's that make you feel? To have a son-in-law that's a Ranger, I mean."

Ranger drained the Styrofoam coffee cup and looked across the desk at Tank. "It makes me feel old. Old and pissed off, because he treated me like I was old. I only spoke with him for a few minutes last night, but he kept addressing me as if I were a five-star."

"There are worse ways to be treated," Tank said. "There's a pretty complete report on him in your in-box. I thought you'd want it."

"Did you have Stephanie run it?"

"Nah. They showed up early evening and she'd already gone. I did it myself. I didn't think you'd want anyone to know about it." Ranger nodded in agreement with Tank's take on the situation. Tank's grin split his face. "Zero was on duty at the lobby desk. She came up to him and introduced herself as your daughter and his hand was shaking so bad he could barely ring me. It's all recorded."

"I'm going up to talk to them in a minute and then I'll call Rachel," Ranger said. "Julie's barely past the legal age to get married, but they think they're in love, I suppose. I wonder if she's prepared to deal with the man who will come home from Afghanistan, because I fucking guarantee it won't be the same kid that leaves her."

"Yeah," Tank agreed. "Quite a few of us around here know that. Changing the subject, how'd it go in Boston?"

"Okay," Ranger said. "We're getting a new employee by the name of R.C. Madrid. It's a temporary gig. I had a favor called in and I'm letting him use RangeMan as his cover. He's DEA, but the agency wants to keep this low profile. He's been working out of Newark and he's after a guy named Naldo Montara, who is involved in a number of things. Drugs, primarily."

"Montara?" Tank asked. "Is he local? I don't recognize the name."

"I think he's operating out of Trenton," Ranger said. "I need more Intel, but what I've been told is Montara is a Santerian priest and he's gaining a small group of followers. It seems cult-like. Animal sacrifice is the norm for their rituals, but Madrid is convinced there's also human sacrifice involved." Ranger paused and the sarcasm was evident in his voice as he continued, "The DEA is willing to overlook that small detail if they can get him on drug charges."

"All those alphabet soup agencies have their quotas," Tank said.

Ranger looked at his watch. "I've got to get up to seven. I'm breakfasting with my daughter and new son-in-law. I'll catch you later. We're going to have to set up a meeting of the core team when Madrid comes onboard. They, at least, need to be apprised of the op."

The newlyweds were waiting for him in his living room, their arms wrapped around one another. He thought in their position he might have been a little nervous, but if either Julie or Scott was anxious it didn't show. Julie walked to her father as he entered the room and hugged him. She was making an effort at reducing the awkward tension that had permeated the unplanned reunion the night before.

"I'm sorry we were sleeping in your bed last night," she said. "If I'd have known you'd be back we would have found somewhere else to stay, but we were so exhausted from the trip I asked Tank if we could stay here. He said it would be okay."

"You're always welcome here, Julie," Ranger told her. He noticed that Scott was watching their interaction silently. "It would have been nice to have a little advance notice, though," Ranger concluded.

"You're right," Julie said. "But the thing is, we eloped and we kind of made our plans on the way here."

"You eloped?" Ranger questioned. "Do Rachel and Ron know about this?"

"Yes," Scott said. "I asked Ron for permission to marry Julie and he said he wouldn't stand in our way, but Rachel wasn't so accepting."

"She wouldn't listen to reason," Julie said. Her stance was defensive and Ranger saw a hint of the rebellious teenager Rachel had described to him on more than one occasion.

"Rachel is a very open-minded person," Ranger told his daughter. "I can't believe she wouldn't listen."

"When it comes to me and my future, she wants everything her way," Julie said. She hesitated and then said in a rush, "She doesn't want me to repeat her mistakes." Julie stepped closer to Scott and stood waiting to see how her father would respond to her statement.

"If you are referring to my brief marriage to your mother," Ranger said, "I understand her hesitancy to embrace your marriage." He saw Julie stiffen as he continued, "I am in no position to pass judgment on the matter of your elopement, but I understand your mother's desire to see you continue your education and mature a little before you take on the responsibilities of marriage."

"Sir, if I might speak?" Scott Freeman was standing at attention, Ranger noticed. "You can speak," Ranger said, secretly amused despite his intention not to be. "You may be in the Army, but I no longer am. You don't have to ask permission." Before he could continue he heard the door open and the enticing aroma of Ella's breakfast announced her presence.

There was a short but heartfelt reunion between Ella and Julie. They hadn't known each other well, but Ranger marveled at the ease with which they spoke. It gave him time to observe his daughter. She was articulate and very socially practiced. It was a skill he, himself, didn't have. He had no need for social niceties, and no desire to engage in them. He had to keep reminding himself she was only eighteen. Her stature and looks as well as her manner proclaimed her to be much more mature than his idea of an average eighteen-year-old.

After Ella left, the three of them sat at the bar in the kitchen, eating in silence. Julie was the first to pick up the conversation. "Mom is worried about me," she said flatly. "She thinks if she keeps me close to home she can channel my education into something safe and simple. She wants me to be a teacher."

"There is nothing wrong with being a teacher," Ranger said.

"That's true, but I want a different career. I told her months ago that I wanted to live near you. I'd like to train for a job in, um, law enforcement, and that doesn't suit her plans at all. She wants me married and settled near her, with a tidy little job and a house full of her grandchildren."

Scott smiled at his wife. "She got her first wish, Babe."

Ranger started at the endearment, and then he took a good long look at the man sitting across the breakfast bar from him. He wouldn't dishonor him by thinking of him as a kid any longer. He was about to be deployed to Afghanistan. If he wasn't fully a man when he left, he'd be one when he came home.

"The reason Mom dislikes Scott is she knew, the minute she met him, he would take me from her. We decided to get married and come to Trenton, so I could be near you while he was deployed. You don't mind if I'm here, do you?"

Ranger thought for a moment. It had never crossed his mind that his daughter might have a need to get to know him better, or that she could be interested in his business. Despite her proclamation she wanted a job in law enforcement, he realized there was possibly another reason she'd come to RangeMan.

"I don't mind if you are in Trenton, but you can't stay in my apartment. We'll have to find somewhere else for you to live. And you will have to make peace with your mother. You may be eighteen, but she raised you and you owe her an explanation. You might want to have a solid plan lined out for your near future when you call her."

"We do have a plan, sir. Julie will find a place to live and a job, and then she will take classes part-time. My orders call for me to be in Afghanistan, and after that I'll be at Fort Benning. Our plan is to make Trenton our home base and Julie will travel with me when she can."

"I was hoping," Julie said quietly, "that Stephanie could help with our hunt to find a place to live and help me find a job." Ranger was surprised at the mention of Stephanie's name until he remembered Rachel telling him that Julie had stayed in contact with Stephanie. Stephanie had helped Julie get over the nightmare of her abduction by the crazy bastard, Scrog.

"Stephanie works for me," Ranger told his daughter. "I'm sure she would be happy to help you find a place to stay, but you won't need to work." He'd told Julie to have a plan lined out before she talked to Rachel. He needed a plan as well and the seeds were sprouting. "I'll pay your tuition and you can go to school full-time. That should appease your mother to some degree."

Scott stood from the breakfast bar and stared at Ranger. He was obviously struggling with what he was going to say. Ranger waited to hear whatever thought was formulating behind the sincere green eyes of this young man, who had proclaimed himself his son-in-law last night.

"Sir, I mean no offense and we do appreciate your offer, but Julie is my wife, and my responsibility. We can't accept your offer of tuition, and we can't afford for her to go to school full-time yet. But when we can you will be sure I will see to it that she finishes her education, if that's what she wants."

Ranger wasn't sure he liked his son-in-law, but the kid had backbone. He simply nodded his head and turned to Julie. "I'm sure Stephanie would be pleased to have the opportunity to help you. I'll give her a call this morning."

"Will you give us a tour of RangeMan?" Julie asked. "I'd love to see it. Tank didn't show us much last night when we got here."

Ranger looked at his watch. Although he was home a day earlier than anticipated he had things to attend to, and Julie would probably enjoy spending time with Stephanie. And then there was the real reason. He didn't want to show Julie the inner workings of RangeMan. He would examine the reasons behind his feelings later, but for the time being he knew what had to be done. He picked up the phone and called Stephanie.


	2. Chapter 2

**I use them for fun and not for profit.**

**Chapter 2**

Stephanie Morelli was almost always at work by 9:00 a.m., but her semi-annual dentist appointment had taken longer than she'd planned, so it was close to ten when she slipped into her chair. The early morning drive in humid weather had added extra bounce to her curls. Idly, she pushed them back from her face and dropped her bag in the bottom desk drawer. The blinking light on her phone was typical and she grabbed a pad and pen to make notes as she listened to her phone messages. As head of research for RangeMan Enterprises, she frequently dealt more with administrative duties than actual research, so she was prepared for whatever message was left, except this one.

"Babe," Ranger's voice filled her ear. He didn't call her Babe often these days; in fact, he didn't call often at all these days. It had been six years since she'd made the decision to marry Joe, and six years since her life underwent a major upheaval. Joe was surprisingly accepting of her full-time position with RangeMan, after their marriage. Joe'd made it clear he no longer wanted Stephanie to be involved with Plum Bail Bonds, and in much the same way Ranger had always taken care of her, he stepped forward and offered her legitimate employment with RangeMan.

A nine-to-five job with benefits, and almost no chance of getting shot, or rolling in garbage, seemed preferable to skip tracing. Ranger and Joe would never be friends, but Joe respected Ranger, and Joe was feeling magnanimous at the time. Stephanie had chosen him over the mercenary. She'd agreed to be his wife, and to be the mother of his children. Ranger offered Stephanie a job which paid well, and Joe encouraged her to take it.

From Stephanie's perspective the job wasn't her dream job, but as a newlywed she was still in the mode of keeping Joe happy, and although she had chosen Joe over Ranger, she still had a need to be near _him_. She knew when she married Joe she was still in love with both men. Ranger had made it clear she had no permanent place in his life and Joe had made it clear that he wanted to get married, and if she said no, they would be through. She loved two men and was in danger of losing both of them, so she married one and went to work for the other. She accepted the job as a researcher and after six years she was running the state of the art research facility. No one, except of course Ranger, could have imagined how RangeMan would grow or what Stephanie's position would someday entail.

She focused her attention back to the recorded voice that still caused a physical reaction deep inside her. "Can you come to my apartment? There is someone here who'd like to see you and I promised them you'd give them a tour of RangeMan." She checked the time of the message. He'd left it just five minutes previously. In a purely delaying tactic, she listened to the rest of her messages before she pushed her chair back from her desk and walked from her office.

The fifth floor at RangeMan looked similar to the way it originally had. The conference room was still in place and Ranger's office was virtually unchanged. The monitoring area had been relocated and the space given over to offices for the rest of the core team. This was command central for RangeMan and she was part of the management team. It sometimes amazed her, and sometimes frustrated her.

Being one of the guys was a status she'd worked hard to achieve, and yet there were times when it would have been nice to be singled out. There were days she knew she was doing a superior job and if she was truthful her hard work was acknowledged, but never directly by Ranger. Usually any praise for a job well done trickled down via Tank.

Likewise any specific job requests came through Tank's office. In staff meetings Ranger always treated her exactly the same as he did the other guys, and the guys taking their cue from him, accepted her willingly into their close ranks. She was their sister, the one they teased, tormented and protected fiercely. It was hard sometimes working in a mostly male organization, but the men never crossed the line from brotherly into the more grey area of an interpersonal relationship. There were two reasons for that, she knew. The older guys, who'd been with Ranger from the beginning, still saw her as Ranger's woman, despite her six-year marriage. The newer guys simply saw her as a married woman who'd never given them cause for flirtation. That was why she'd been happy to keep her personal situation quiet, but she was afraid it would all end soon.

She found herself standing in the elevator on her way to seven as her mind came back to the present. She still had her fob and she'd used it automatically. It wasn't the first time she'd been to seven since she'd started working at RangeMan, but it was the first time she'd been in the elevator on the way to the top floor, alone, and it was the first time she'd been summoned. Ranger had taken pains to avoid personal interaction between them and as in everything Ranger did, he'd been successful. Her heart was beating an unsteady rhythm and her palms were sweaty has she slid them down the sides of her black cargos. He shouldn't have this power over her after six years, but he did.

She knocked on the door firmly determined not to let her nervousness show, and she was completely disconcerted when a tall, athletic and beautiful young girl opened the door to her knock.

"Stephanie!" the girl exclaimed.

Realization dawned on Stephanie in a flood of relief-tinged emotion. The two had been friends since Edward Scrog had abducted Julie when she was ten. At the end of that nightmare she was emotionally attached to the daughter of Carlos Mañoso, and they'd stayed in touch through the years. There had been emails, and birthday cards and once Julie hit her teen years they'd become friends on Facebook.

For a brief and terrible moment she'd thought she was meeting the new woman in Ranger's life. She knew there were women, although she'd never seen even the slightest evidence of one, and if there were women it stood to reason one day there would be the woman. Why that thought bothered her when she'd given up on him years ago was a question she refused to deal with.

She stepped forward into a hug from the girl who towered over her by at least three inches. "Julie," Stephanie said. "It's so nice to see you. I didn't know you were planning a visit."

"Uhm, it was sort of unplanned," Julie said, releasing Stephanie from her arms and stepping back so Stephanie caught site of a handsome young man standing between the living room and the hallway. "This is Scott, my husband." Julie turned and stepped back to pull the man forward.

"Your husband!" Stephanie said, extending her hand to shake Scott's. "I'm surprised. I had no idea."

"You're not the only one surprised," Julie said rolling her eyes. "Come in and sit and we'll tell you all about it."

Stephanie walked into the living room and surreptitiously looked around. It was unchanged from her last visit which had occurred six months earlier when she'd accompanied Tank and Lester to an impromptu strategy meeting.

"Where's your father?"

"Ranger, er, Dad, had to leave a few minutes ago. He said his day was full, but he said you probably wouldn't mind showing us around." Stephanie had known the answer before she'd asked. It had been years since she'd spent any significant time in the apartment, but she had the innate ability to sense his presence, or his absence. Her mind roamed over her own schedule for the day. Like Ranger's, her schedule was full, but she would rearrange and make time for his daughter and her new husband.

"Julie, I'm surprised you're here and I'm surprised you're married. It seems sudden."

"It was sudden," Scott said stepping forward. "We eloped." Stephanie sat in the big leather armchair that was Ranger's favorite and listened to the couple tumble out their story.

"So you see," Julie said. "I'm going to live in Trenton and work and go to school part-time while Scott is deployed. I was hoping you could help me find a job, and a place to live."

Ranger wanted them to have a tour and Julie said he'd told them she would do it. They needed a place to live and it didn't take much imagination to realize she was the most likely candidate from the core team. It was a gender bias, but one that held true in this particular instance. Stephanie was the one most qualified to help Julie and Scott find a base of operations for their new life. She was the one most equipped to help Julie find suitable employment, and she was the one who'd be working late to finish her day's work after she'd helped Ranger solve this familial crisis.

"Things have changed a lot since you last visited, Julie. I don't know how much you remember, but I'll be happy to show you around and reacquaint you with RangeMan."

Stephanie decided to start at the top, since they were already there. She had no idea how much Julie knew about RangeMan, but she was betting, not much. In spite of their increased time together since the kidnapping, she knew Ranger would have been hesitant to talk with his daughter about his own life. He was still ridiculously secretive about it. It was simple enough to give Julie and her husband a tour, but she wondered if Ranger was really asking her to do more for his daughter.

"Julie, what kind of job are you looking for?" she asked.

"I need something part-time, because I want to attend school part-time as well. I don't really have anything particular in mind. Do you know of a job?"

"I might," Stephanie replied. "Give me a half hour to check some things out and then I'll come back and show you around the building."

She left and went directly to the first floor. Shortly after Stephanie had come to work for RangeMan, Ranger had bought the bonds office from Vinnie. Plum Bail Bonds ceased to exist, and RangeMan Bail Bonds took its place. The entire operation was moved into the empty office space on the first floor of RangeMan and Connie and Lula moved in as well. Lula became a file clerk and receptionist for the bonds business. Connie wrote bonds and ran the office. It had only taken Ranger a few weeks to notice how efficient Connie was and within the first year she was functioning as the office manager for RangeMan, doing the payroll and scheduling. Her job duties had continued to grow as had Lula's.

It was nice having her friends in the same building with her. She made time at least once during her day to stop in and visit. They still shared donuts, and Burg gossip in the morning…and they knew. Connie and Lula were the only ones she'd shared her secret with and it was a relief to open up and be herself when she was with them.

When she popped into the bonds office reception area Lula looked up from the desk. "Hey, Steph," she said. "We saved you a Boston Crème and a couple of glazed. Are you numb from your dentist appointment?"

"Nope," Stephanie said as she lifted the lid on the white donut box sitting on the corner of the desk. "I just got cleaned today. Where's Connie?"

"I'm here." Connie's voice floated through the open doorway of her office. "I'm buried behind a stack of paperwork, but come on in."

Munching on her Boston Crème, Stephanie went in and flopped in one of the two chairs facing Connie's desk. Connie hadn't been exaggerating. There was a stack of papers on her desk twelve inches high.

"Ranger's got company," Stephanie said. "His daughter Julie is visiting."

"Julie!" Lula exclaimed as she entered the office and took the chair next to Stephanie's. "That cute little girl's here for a visit?"

"She's not a little girl any longer," Stephanie said. "She's eighteen, and she's married."

"No," Lula said. "She can't be."

"She is," Stephanie said, "and she's drop dead gorgeous."

"That don't surprise me none," Lula said. "I never met her mama, but there's not one thing wrong with her daddy.

"There's plenty wrong with her daddy," Stephanie said and realized her mistake as two perfectly round mouths turned toward her. She shook her head. "I shouldn't have said that. It's ancient history. And anyway I'm here to talk about Julie." She told them Julie's story of her elopement and her need for a job.

"I don't suppose you have anything open here?" she asked Connie.

"I might," Connie said.

"Don't create a position for her," Stephanie said. "Ranger asked me to show her around and I'm doing it. Not because he asked me to, but because, in spite of their brave faces, I think those kids could use a little support. Her mother isn't happy about the marriage. I just thought if we could keep her close to RangeMan it might be a little easier for her to adjust after Scott leaves."

"We can always use basic office help around here," Connie said. "I could probably give her twenty hours a week, if she can use a photocopier and has basic computer skills."

"That's great," Stephanie said. "I'm going to go back up and give them the nickel tour, and then I'll bring them down here."

"I can't believe that little girl is married," Lula said. "She's too young."

"I don't know about that," Stephanie replied. "We've stayed in touch ever since the Scrog thing and I think she's pretty mature. She knows her own mind and there is enough of her father in her that I think she's determined to make her own way."

"Yeah, but eighteen? How many teenage marriages last?"

"Mary Lou and Lenny were both eighteen when they got married. They're happy. I was in my thirties, and…"

"Yeah, you got a point," Lula concluded. "Go up and get them kids," Lula said. "I want to see how she turned out."

Stephanie decided to take the stairs from the first floor to the seventh. It was out of character for her, but she'd recently made a resolution to get more exercise. Her Grandma Mazur and her mother both swore her good Hungarian genes, which allowed her to eat junk food and not gain weight, were about to expire. And besides getting exercise, she wanted to give herself some time to think before she began showing Julie and Scott around RangeMan.

She understood that Julie wanted to see her, and she thought maybe Ranger hadn't wanted to be the one showing his daughter around. Now that Julie's last name was Freeman, there would be people who wouldn't immediately make the connection between Julie and Ranger. The core team, of course knew of her existence, but some of the other men had no idea Ranger had a daughter. He was very secretive about his life outside RangeMan, so she knew she was not only reacquainting herself with Julie, she was doing her boss a favor.

Back in the old days, when he'd been her best friend, he would have said, "Thanks for helping, Babe." Now he wouldn't even acknowledge her help. She thought of his voicemail this morning and wondered if he'd even realized he'd used the endearment. Six years was a long time to carry a grudge because she'd chosen to marry Joe, especially when he'd made it clear there was no room in his life for her on a permanent basis.

And yet, here she was six years later, still in his employ. And he knew as well as she, her job was vital to the running of the behemoth RangeMan had become. Ranger had remodeled the building on Haywood and expanded RangeMan into bail bonds, surveillance, security and most recently a small, but potentially lucrative private investigating service. And although it was just a whispered rumor there was talk of RangeMan going nationwide.

She was breathing heavily as she reached the door to the seventh floor. She leaned against the cool cement-block wall for a moment, catching her breath before she leaned back and pointed the fob at the door. The electronic locks clicked and she pulled the stairwell door open. The fob would also open the apartment door, but she knocked and waited for Julie to answer.

Julie and Scott stood in the foyer ready for their tour of the building that housed her father's life, or at least the part of his life he'd opened for public display. Stephanie led them down the stairs to the sixth floor.

"This is where Ella and Luis live," she told the young couple. "A couple of years ago this floor was remodeled and two more apartments were added."

"I think we are staying in one of them until Scott leaves in two days," Julie said. "I don't think my dad wanted to give up his apartment for one more night."

"They are very nice," Stephanie said. "Small, but efficient, and Ella takes care of them and whomever is staying here. They are mostly used for short-term occupancy, when someone from RangeMan comes in from another office, but that won't be happening much anymore. We've brought all the remote offices into the Trenton office." The door to Ella's apartment opened and the plump grandmotherly woman stopped in surprise as she saw them.

"Good morning, Ella," Stephanie said. "I'm giving Scott and Julie a tour. Could you open one of the apartments for us? I don't have a key."

"Certainly," Ella replied. She unlocked the door and showed them the apartment. "It's small, but very nice," she said.

"I think Julie and Scott are going to be staying here for the next couple of nights," Stephanie told Ella. "I'll help them get their stuff moved down from Ranger's place in a little while, but first I'm giving them the grand tour." Ella promised to have the apartment ready for them in short time, but Stephanie thought it already looked fine.

They walked down to the fifth floor and entered the area that used to be the command center. There was a conference room and a small break room, just as there had always been. The other half of the floor was filled with offices and several cubicles. Ranger's office was central and it was flanked on either side by Tank and Lester's offices, and it was conspicuously empty. Bobby had a small office which he rarely used, preferring to spend time in the infirmary. Her office was tucked into the far corner diagonal to the break room. She liked her small space and its proximity to the elevator. She had a good view of everyone coming and going on the floor.

Next they visited the fourth floor. "This floor used to be apartments much like the one you saw on six," Stephanie told them. "Your father bought the entire block of townhouses across the street from this building a couple of years ago. He tore down two of them because they were in disrepair, but the other three have been remodeled. One building is small apartments and the other two are condos with three units in each building."

"I had no idea Dad was into real estate," Julie said.

"He's not," Stephanie told her. "He is into his employees. He bought the townhouses and has had them rehabbed and most of them have been bought by employees. I don't know if you noticed when you arrived yesterday, but the houses that had to be torn down are now parking for RangeMan employees and fleet vehicles."

They toured the monitoring stations and Stephanie introduced them to the men manning the screens only as Julie and Scott Freeman. She made no mention of their relationship to Ranger. She saw speculation in Vince's eyes and she knew he'd made the connection. It wouldn't be long and everyone would know exactly who Julie was.

"RangeMan seems like a good place to work," Julie said. Stephanie smiled at her. Julie was almost transparent in her desire to work for her father. She hoped the reality of working, literally, on the ground floor of RangeMan would satisfy her.

"Come on," Stephanie told them. "I'll show you the call center on three and the business offices on two, and then…well, let's just say the best is yet to come."


	3. Chapter 3

**I use them for fun and not for profit.**

**Chapter 3**

Light spilled out of Stephanie's office. The floor was deserted except for her. She'd started in on her day's work at four p.m. and she was still busy sorting through papers at seven. Ranger opened the stairway door and paused as he saw the yellow square of illumination reflected on the carpet. He looked at his watch. The idea of getting a little paperwork done before he called it a day vanished as he walked toward her office.

She didn't glance up from her task, but they both knew she was aware of him. It had been ignored for years, but the awareness between them was still there. It was an appetite that hadn't been fed, but neglect hadn't lessened their innate knowledge of one another's presence.

"You're working late tonight," he said. "Is Morelli on night duty? I'd have thought you'd want to be home with the husband." She kept her eyes firmly focused on the screen in front of her.

"I have a job to do," she said. "And since I was doing your job today I didn't have a chance to start my work until late."

"My work?" he was perplexed. What did she mean? He waited, but when no further explanation was forthcoming he walked in and sat in the chair facing her desk.

"My work?" he asked again. "What were you doing?"

"As if you didn't know," she said. "I spent the morning showing Julie and Scott around RangeMan, helping her find a job and helping them find a place to live. This afternoon I got them moved out of your apartment and I helped them move the rest of their meager belongings from their car and get settled in their new place, and then…" she stopped to draw in a deep breath, "we went shopping. They have two days to honeymoon in their new place before Scott leaves."

"Stephanie," Ranger said, "I asked you to give them a quick tour of the building and a brief explanation of the inner workings of RangeMan. I didn't ask you to organize their lives." He felt guilty with the lie. He'd wanted her to do everything she'd said, but he didn't admit it. He hoped she'd been able to find Julie employment someplace acceptable. Julie needed a job that would send her straight back to her mother after a few miserable weeks. The personal products plant would be good, or maybe the Tasty Pastry was hiring.

"You didn't?" she asked. "I'm sorry then, if I've stepped on your toes. I didn't know you planned to spend the day welcoming your daughter to Trenton and helping her get settled in." He heard the sarcasm in her voice and ignored it.

"She was old enough to run away from home and get married," he said. "She's old enough to take care of herself."

"That's bullshit, Ranger, and you know it," Stephanie said. "Someone needed to guide them in the right direction and you planned for me to do it all along. And you don't even have to admit it, because we both know it's the truth."

Okay, it was the truth and he wasn't going to admit it. He wasn't comfortable showing Julie around RangeMan. Most of the older guys knew of her existence, but he didn't talk about her, ever. Julie had been the result of a mistake, and he gave thanks Rachel had the maturity to raise the child he'd walked away from. He'd made sure there was money for Rachel and the child and, in the lean early years, that hadn't always been easy. The legal, financial and moral commitment he could deal with. The emotional commitment had been beyond him at that young age. He wanted to be proud of Julie, but he hadn't had any hand in the young woman she'd become. All the credit went to Ron and Rachel.

She was their daughter, not really his in the true sense of the word. If he'd needed any proof of that, Julie had given it to him last night. She'd showed up with a husband, telling a story of her mother's disapproval. Scott had talked to Ron about the marriage, but no one had considered Ranger's opinion, because he wasn't the father. He'd have stood firm with Rachel for a number of reasons. He loved Julie and even though he hadn't been a large part of her life he stood in solidarity with the decisions of her mother. He didn't like it that she'd run to him after her parents, her mother specifically, had disapproved of her actions.

"Connie will start training her sometime later this week," he heard Stephanie say and with a jolt he pulled his mind back to the present. His heart was thumping a staccato rhythm as he heard her words, but his body remained motionless. Then he slowly extended his knees and stretched his legs in front of him. He rested his elbows on the chair arms and he steepled his fingers in front of his face. He resisted the urge to look at Stephanie, and instead concentrated on his fingers.

"You gave her a job at RangeMan?" he asked, quietly interrupting her.

"Connie hired her for an open position," Stephanie said. He could hear the quick rise of anger in her short clipped tones and he imagined the color was high in her cheeks, but he wouldn't look. She was sensing he was ungrateful for everything she'd done and she was getting angry at his implied censure. But he was angry, too.

"Who gave you the authority to hire my daughter?" he asked.

"You are not listening, Ranger. Connie hired her, not me, but since you asked, I have the authority to hire. I hired two part-time researchers last month without your knowledge, but with your full approval. Julie will be working in the office, helping Lula and I doubt if anyone will even realize she's your daughter."

Stephanie's voice was coming from directly in front of him. He lowered his hands to stare straight ahead, into her midriff. She'd moved from the chair behind the desk to stand in front of it, in front of him. Her breath was heaving and he could tell she was in full blown temper mode. "You might as well know the rest, Ranger. I moved them into the smaller apartment on six and arranged to have the rent withheld from her paycheck. I tried to let them have it for free, but Scott insisted they pay their own way."

"You did what?" He stood and their bodies were just inches apart. He was fucked. He'd only wanted to grant Julie's wish to spend some time with Stephanie. He'd thought she'd find them a place out of the way, in a quiet neighborhood, and a dead end job in the Burg. Stephanie had jumped in with both feet and taken care of everything. His plan to manipulate his daughter into returning to Miami to be close to her mother had backfired, and he was pissed, both at Stephanie and himself. If he was honest with himself, he knew it had been Julie's goal to work at RangeMan. If there was anyone to be angry with it was himself, not Stephanie.

She looked good, he thought, momentarily forgetting his temper. He'd provided Stephanie with a job where she would be safe, after she'd married Morelli. Part of him was altruistic and part of him was selfish, because even though she was married, or maybe because she was married, he needed to see her. And for six years he'd seen her, but he could count on one hand the times they'd been this close. They both made it a point to avoid any kind of physical contact. Hell, she was married, or at least she pretended to be. He shouldn't do it, but he reached out a hand and pushed a curl behind her ear. It sprang forward and his stomach did a little flip. They were alone on the floor. The rest of the building was populated with various RangeMan personnel, but the fifth floor was empty. He reached out and wrapped his hand around her upper arm.

"W-what are you doing?" she asked. She was trying to maintain her mad, but he saw the desire in her eyes. It had been six years since she left, and he ached to pull her against him. "Joe t-trusts you," she said.

Ranger shook his head. "Joe isn't a good excuse, Babe. We both know that."

She looked deeply into his eyes and pulled her arm free of his hand. "You know," she said. "How long have you known?"

"Two years," he answered. "Since the day Albert Kloughn filed your divorce papers."

"Two years!" she said unbelievingly. "Albert said he could keep it quiet and he has. No one knows. You really expect me to believe you've known all along?"

"I have known."

"Why am I just now hearing about this?"

"Because you're still living with Morelli, and Morelli's not being discreet any longer." She swung around her desk and unmindful of the open programs hit the power switch on the computer. She looped the handles of her purse over her forearm and tried to push past Ranger.

"My life is none of your business. Get out of my way," she said. He didn't move. She stepped to the side and so did he. She looked at him unblinking and in a move he almost didn't see coming, she raised her knee. Eight years ago that knee had been lethal to any number of skips, but he knew her well and he blocked the oncoming knee. He used her unbalanced stance to pull her close against him, so she couldn't try again. He felt the familiar stirring in his groin and considered for a moment before he released her. She almost stumbled in her attempt to step back, but he let her put space between them. He couldn't go there, and he didn't think she wanted him to.

"Stephanie," he said. She ignored him and walked around him. "Babe, please." She stopped and swiveled to face him. There was silence, and a magnetic pull between them. They had been lovers a lifetime ago and they'd been friends. Now they were neither, but the current between them was still strong. He saw her shoulders heave with her deep breath and watched her as she silently turned and walked away.

He stepped out of her office and quietly made his way back to his own. The desire to get work done had totally left him, but he needed to sit for a while and contemplate on Julie's arrival and the apology he needed to make to Stephanie.

He heard the stairwell door open and stopped where he was standing, in the doorway of his office. Stephanie had her head down and she was walking quickly toward him.

"I've got more to say to you," she told him as she stopped in front of him. She glanced briefly to the right and left and seemed satisfied they were alone. "No one knows Joe and I have been divorced for over two years. We're getting ready to make public the news that we are no longer together. I need your word that you won't say anything to anyone."

"You don't need my word," Ranger said. "I don't make a habit of sharing what I know with anyone who isn't immediately involved."

"It seems to me," Stephanie said, "you do make a habit of poking your nose into my business. You are not immediately involved in my life, unless my job here as head of research is just a ploy so you can track my movements?"

"Do you think I would have kept you as an employee all this time, to track your movements?" His voice was harsh, cutting. He had a need to bite back. "I don't need you to work for me in order to know what's going on in your life. You're the head of research, Stephanie. You of all people should know how easy it is to learn people's secrets."

Stephanie moved past him in the hallway and began pacing back and forth in the narrow confines, and then she turned. She looked him full in the face. "I don't understand you, Ranger. I spent a great deal of today thinking about the time when Julie was kidnapped by Scrog. I saw him shoot you and I know you let that happen to protect Julie and me. That's when I knew for sure I loved you, and you loved me."

Ranger stood and watched her and said nothing in response. He wasn't sure what to say in any case, but he knew she wasn't done. He wasn't sure what point she was trying to make so he let her finish.

"You made sure I knew, Ranger, there was no future for us. For two years I waited and you never changed your story. And Joe, good old Joe, came to the rescue. He gave me an ultimatum. 'I know you love me, Stephanie,' he said, 'so marry me. I need a wife and I want you to be my wife, but if you don't want to marry me then we're through'."

Ranger watched as Stephanie's arms rose and fell and her hands punctuated every sentence. "So I did what I thought was best. I married one of the men I was in love with. And the other man stepped forward to give me a job."

"I gave you a job," Ranger said, "because I knew Morelli would want you to be safe and I knew you'd be safe working at RangeMan."

"You gave me a job and then you acted like I didn't exist," Stephanie said. "I don't understand why you were angry when I married Joe. You didn't want me. You made that clear. And I don't understand why for six years you have totally ignored me at work. I thought we were friends, Ranger. How did I ruin that?"

"You were married." Ranger took a step toward her and she backed away. He let her have her space. "Morelli wasn't the only one that wanted you to have a job where you'd be safe. How the hell did you want me to act? You belonged to another man. And you didn't come to me when that changed, Babe. You let everyone believe you were still married to Joe."

"We had our reasons for staying together after we divorced," she said. "I can't, and I wouldn't even if I could, talk about that with you." She looked at him with eyes shadowed with pain. "I never did understand you, Ranger." This time when she turned away she ran to the stairwell door, and Ranger was left alone.

He went into his office and sat at his desk wondering what the hell had just happened. He heard the stairwell door open again and looked up, sure it would be Stephanie, but it wasn't.

R.C. Madrid walked toward him, a lanyard with a visitor tag hanging from his neck. Ranger stood and walked into the empty hallway to greet him. "I wasn't expecting you for a couple of days," Ranger said to him. What he didn't say was he wasn't in the mood for any conversation. He buried his mood behind a blank face and did what he was very good at, he forgot the altercation with Stephanie and gave his full attention to R.C. Madrid.

The men stood quietly, assessing one another. It was unspoken, but they both saw it. They were the same height and Ranger would have guessed they were within five pounds of being the same weight. Same hair color, eye color and same skin tone. Ranger knew from reading Madrid's bio, they were both Cuban-American. Madrid was younger, by almost ten years, and he could have easily passed himself off as Ranger's brother.

"My last assignment wrapped up a little earlier than I expected, and I want to get this job started," R.C. said. "What the hell was the tornado that spun by me on the stairs on my way up?"

"Stephanie Morelli."

"Ahh, so that's the infamous Bombshell Bounty Hunter." R.C.'s grin showed perfect white teeth and his eyes crinkled as his smile expanded.

Ranger lifted an eyebrow. "You do your homework," he said.

"I bumped into Lester Santos earlier today. I introduced myself, but didn't give him any back story. I had questions and he was in a talkative mood. I told him you'd hired me to work as a private investigator and bounty hunter for RangeMan. He gave me the rundown on several of the guys, not just Stephanie Morelli."

Ranger's gaze was direct. "You've been listening to war stories from Santos?"

"Santos told me quite a bit," Madrid said. "He said Stephanie Morelli had no skills to speak of, but unbelievable instincts and good luck, and that her capture rate is still the record high." Ranger stayed quiet while Madrid recounted his conversation, remembering Stephanie Plum. He kept the enjoyment of hearing Madrid's interpretation of Lester's account buried deep behind his expressionless façade.

"Did they really have lottery pools to guess the date of her next car explosion?"

"They did," Ranger said. "They were never sanctioned by me, though, because it was usually one of my cars she was driving." He was quiet remembering the fear and then gratitude she always exhibited when she told him she'd destroyed another of his cars.

"Then the stories are true?" R.C. asked, "About the Bombshell Bounty Hunter?"

"There is probably some grain of truth in what you heard," Ranger said. "If Santos was the one talking there may have been some embellishment. I should warn you, she's never liked the name, or its diminutive, Bomber. She tolerates it at best."

"I'm looking forward to getting to know her," R.C. said.

Ranger didn't respond but asked, "You wanted to talk to me about?" Indicating he was done with the subject of Stephanie Morelli. R.C. had a surprise for him. It was Stephanie he was here to talk about. They walked, in silent accord, into Ranger's office to continue their conversation.

R.C. Madrid. He'd told everyone the R.C. stood for nothing. That he had no traditional first or middle name. The truth was he shared names with his pseudo-employer, but Ricardo Carlos Madrid preferred that fact to remain unknown. He shared enough in common with Mañoso as it was. He was content to let the men call him R.C., or maybe he'd acquire a nickname. The men of RangeMan had a propensity for nicknames, apparently.

"I want to talk to you about Stephanie Morelli," he told Ranger.

"Stephanie?" Ranger asked.

"Yeah. I'm assuming you are going to use the backstory we came up with. I'm being hired as a PI, but I'll start by doing a little skip tracing to get my feet wet in the corporation."

"Yes," Ranger said. "I plan on sharing your real identity on a need to know basis, but probably with my core group. Tank already knows you come with a hidden agenda. What does this have to do with Stephanie?"

"I want to use her to help me with a skip," R.C. said. "She knows the population of the Burg and the geography like the back of her hand, or so I'm told."

"Part of the agreement when Stephanie came to work here was that she wouldn't do any field work. She hasn't done any in six years."

"She's kept her BEA credentials up to date," R.C. said. Again, Ranger raised an eyebrow.

"I have resources." R.C. closed the office door ensuring complete privacy for himself and Ranger. "I did a little research on RangeMan in preparation for my time here. You could say I did my homework."

"There is an FTA that came across your office manager's desk this morning," R.C. continued. "Tinley Hicks. Tinley is old time Burg. He graduated high school in the same class as Stephanie's husband. He has siblings, cousins, aunts and uncles all living in the Burg. And Tinley's business partner is…"

"Naldo Montara," Ranger said.

"You know this?" R.C. was surprised.

"I have resources," Ranger told him, "and I do my homework, too."


	4. Chapter 4

**I use them for fun and not for profit.**

**Chapter 4**

Stephanie went down the first flight of stairs and rounded the corner, pausing only slightly when she realized someone was coming up. The first thing she saw was the yellow visitor tag swinging on a lanyard against the man's chest. The second thing she noticed was that he looked remarkably like Ranger. The men could have been brothers, although this man seemed younger, but maybe that's because he was smiling at her. Ranger used to smile at her, but mostly these days he stared somberly. She'd be damned if she was going to feel guilty if she somehow let him down by marrying Joe.

She nodded her head and gave only a fleeting thought as to who the man might be. While her curiosity could never be completely assuaged, her current fit of temper was doing a pretty good job of monopolizing her thoughts. She pushed on the door to the garage with both hands and it flung open. Fortunately, there was no one standing on the other side, because the force with which the door slammed against the wall would have crushed someone standing behind it. She looked across the parking garage and headed for the lone red car in a sea of black. One of the perks of being management at RangeMan was parking in the garage. The company had grown so large the other workers parked across the street in the new parking space Ranger had provided.

She was in a hurry to leave, to go home, to go to Joe's home. It had been their home for four years until they found they couldn't live with one another as man and wife anymore, and they divorced. A strong desire to not be the seven-day wonder of the Burg had caused them to continue to live together, but they'd never planned for the deception to continue this long.

Two years had gone by, and most days it had been a peaceful existence. They worked out their post-divorce angst by talking about the things that had gone wrong, things that were wrong from the beginning. They formed a tight bond that led to the closure of one part of their relationship and the development of a new one. Joe Morelli was her best friend. He alone had heard her confession of the undying love she felt for Ranger. He didn't judge her, and he understood her feelings were beyond reason, regarding Ranger. She understood Joe's desire for a wife and family, but his inability to commit to one woman totally. They were beyond the recrimination stage and spoke bluntly and freely to one another, in the manner only best friends can.

Right now she needed to get home and speak bluntly with Joe. He was the only one with whom she could vent. She threw her purse on the passenger seat of her Miata and shoved the key into the ignition. The weather of late summer was humid and the interior of the car was airless. She hit the power button on the dash and the hardtop retracted into the trunk. Her tension started to ease as she sped away, topless, in her little red car. The wind whipped tendrils of hair free from her ponytail and blew most of her temper away with it.

As she walked into the house she'd shared with Joe for six years the smell of marinara soothed her. Joe walked into the living room from the kitchen with a dish towel wrapped around his waist. There were sauce stains on the homemade apron and he presented a picture of handsome domesticity. The towel wrapped around his hips accentuated leanly muscled thighs and possibly the best ass in Trenton. "I waited dinner for you," he said. "I was just getting ready to call and check on you. I thought maybe you had plans I didn't know about. You're unusually late."

Stephanie dropped her purse on the sofa and pulled the elasticized band from her hair. She shook her head and re-gathered the recalcitrant curls into a tighter ponytail. "It's good to be home. I'm going to miss you, Joe."

"Nah, you won't. You know you're welcome anytime. Maria understands."

"I know she does," Stephanie said. It was true. Maria was not jealous of her and seemed to accept the close relationship they shared. "Maria is entitled to some private time with her man. You know it will be the talk of the Burg when I move out and she moves in. You guys will have enough to deal with without throwing me into the mix."

"I don't give a rat's ass about Burg gossip, and you know that."

"That may be true, but it's never easy for a woman to deal with. This is a conservative place with some outdated ideas about the woman's role. Ideas, I might add, you shared until Maria came into your life."

"You're not completely correct in that assumption," Joe said, "but I'm not going to argue now. Dinner is ready and you looked bushed. Come to the kitchen and eat. Then you can tell me about your bad day, because, Cupcake, you_ look_ like you've had a bad day."

Stephanie followed Joe into the kitchen with a rare feeling of wistfulness. It would have been nice if she and Joe had worked out, but even from the beginning she'd had her doubts. She tried to keep them buried, and had done a pretty good job for four years. That's when she found out Joe had the same doubts. Their relationship was anything but conventional from the very beginning. They'd matured and found themselves in a good place. And now it was all going to change again.

Six months earlier, Joe had found the woman. The woman Stephanie should have been for him, but couldn't be. Maria was perfect for Joe and all three of them knew it. The façade of happily married Burg couple was going to end because Maria and Joe were getting married. It would come out in a big rush of gossip. She'd tell her family first, and then the rest of the Burg would find out by phone-calls, emails, text messages and whispered asides at the beauty salon and Giovichinni's. She and Joe had been married, were divorced and had been living together for two years. And now Joe was getting remarried. How did she manage to keep herself at the center of Burg gossip way into her forties? Okay, not way into her forties, barely into her forties, she amended. Surely there was some other younger misfit for the Burg to turn their attention to?

"You're quiet tonight," Joe said as he cleared the table. "You've must have had a terrible day."

She looked down to realize her thoughts had occupied her mind through the entire meal. "It started out interesting," she told Joe. "Ranger's daughter Julie came to visit."

Joe sat back at the table and refilled their wine glasses. "That's nice. I imagine she's almost grown now."

"Hunh," Stephanie snorted as she took a long drink of the dry red wine. "She's grown, she's beautiful and she's married."

"What?" Joe's look was puzzled.

"Yeah, exactly," Stephanie said. "She's eighteen and she's married to a young soldier who is about to be deployed to Afghanistan. They eloped two days ago and came to Trenton to see Ranger. Her mother didn't like the idea of Julie marrying so young, so they eloped and Julie plans to stay in Trenton while her husband is gone."

"How'd Ranger take all this?"

"How does Ranger take anything unplanned by him?" Stephanie asked. "It's hard to say because he keeps everything buried, but I think it hit him hard."

"Is Julie why you were so late getting home?"

"Indirectly," Stephanie said. "When I got to work I had a message from Ranger saying he had a surprise for me. The surprise was Julie, and Scott, her husband. I spent the day getting them settled in. It wasn't my job, but Ranger wasn't around to do it, and they were clueless. They're so young, I had to help them."

She was silent, her mind replaying events of the day. Joe prompted her. "It took all day to get them settled?"

"Yes, and no," Stephanie told him. "I found them a place to live and I helped Julie get a job...at RangeMan. Connie is going to use her in the office. I had Ella give them a key to one of the small apartments in RangeMan and then we went shopping. It was kind of fun. Now they have a little nest to honeymoon in for a couple of days before he leaves for Afghanistan. I did exactly what Ranger had planned for me to do, sort of."

"Exactly, sort of?" Joe asked with a laugh. She smiled at him.

"Yeah. He wanted me to help them get settled. I understood that as soon as I realized he wasn't going to make an appearance today. He thought I'd find her a little place to live in the Burg and I'd find her a crappy little job and two months from now she'd go running home to her mother. His dilemma would be solved."

"But you found her a decent place to work, a decent place to live and made sure she'd be in the middle of her father's life?"

"Yup, and he didn't take it well."

"Cupcake," Joe said, leaning across the kitchen table and grasping one of her hands. "I hate to ask you this now, but…"

"It's okay," she interrupted him. "I know I have to get out. I'll go drop the bomb on my family tomorrow and then you can tell your mother we're divorced and you're getting remarried. There aren't any RangeMan condos available right now. That's why I put Julie and Scott on six. I was thinking of dropping by and seeing Dillon. There might be something available in my old building, or maybe the property management company has something. I'll be out by next week, Joe. I promised and I'll keep my word."

Joe stood and looked at her for a moment before he asked, "You gonna be okay here? I was planning on spending the night at Maria's."

Stephanie smiled at him, "I'm fine. Go on."

"I hate to leave you alone," he said. "I'd feel better if you weren't completely alone. Maybe we should have gotten another dog. I miss Bob. He was good company."

"I miss him, too," Stephanie said. "He was a great dog, and I miss Rex, too, even if he wasn't so sociable. Go away, Joe. I know Maria is waiting for you, and I'll be okay here alone. I'm a big girl."

Joe left and Stephanie cleaned up the kitchen. They had fallen into a nice rhythm when it became evident she was never going to be the cook her mother was. Joe did most of the cooking and she did most of the cleaning and they were both satisfied with the arrangement.

As she wiped the countertop she remembered Rex in his cage, wheel spinning. He'd been happy with the move to Joe's house and he had died a peaceful death from old age. She had thought about replacing him, but the time never seemed right.

Bob had lived a full and happy life as well. They hadn't been sure of his age, but it hadn't been a surprise when he'd gone. He'd left a big hole in both her and Joe's hearts. Getting old was inevitable. Changes were inevitable. She was going to be single again. Technically she'd been single for a while, but living with Joe, she'd still felt part of a relationship. Now she was going to be living on her own. She'd done it before and she could do it again. She was nearly forty-one years old and she was starting over. It made her tired to think about it.

Her phone rang at five a.m. She didn't look at the caller ID as she pushed the talk button. She just wanted to make the noise go away as soon as possible.

"Hello," her voice was raspy and it was obvious she'd just been awakened.

"We need to talk." Ranger's voice. He didn't call often these days, but his voice never failed to send electricity through her.

"Is something wrong?" she asked.

"No, but you need to be in my apartment by 0630, and I'd prefer you didn't say anything to anyone about this meeting."

"Is it Julie?" she questioned, "or Scott?"

"It's business. Be here." He disconnected. Some things never changed. She looked at the time and groaned and then reset the alarm. She could get in another half-hour at least. It had been late when she'd finally fallen asleep. Seeing Julie had made her remember many things she hadn't thought about in years.

The Scrog incident had been life-changing for her. It was when she realized she was in love with two men, and it took her months to work it out. Then she'd lost her nerve. When the two-year anniversary of the shooting was approaching she knew she couldn't wait any longer. She'd decided she was going to let Ranger know how she felt. He said his lifestyle didn't lend itself to relationships, but she had decided to show him he was wrong. She didn't want the traditional Burg husband-wife relationship. She'd show Ranger that she could take what he'd give and be happy.

When she had tried to show him, he'd backed off completely, and she'd been left feeling like a fool. She'd listened to everything he'd said about not having someone special in his life, but she never believed him, because he'd shown time after time, she was special. But he never took that step. He kept flirting with her and he let her know she would be welcome in his bed, but that was the only part of his life he was willing to share.

Then Joe had stepped forward and demanded she make a decision. She hadn't wanted to lose Joe, and in a sudden insight into Ranger, she saw it was never going to happen with them. She'd said yes to Joe, and had been happy…for about six months.

The years since their divorce had been surprisingly peaceful, and she and Joe were closer now that they'd ever been. Maria was a good person and very secure in her relationship with Joe. She'd accepted Stephanie as part of Joe's life and hadn't tried to separate them. Stephanie was grateful for that. She had reservations about Maria and Joe, but she'd kept them to herself, because Joe was smitten. Maybe this was the woman he'd been trying to turn Stephanie into when they were married. For his sake, and Maria's, she hoped so, and she hoped Joe had finally grown up enough to make the one-woman commitment. Joe had always had an eye for women, and it was returned. He was handsome, charismatic, and easy. Maria seemed to have changed him and she had sincere hope for their happiness.

And then she wondered, where's my happy? She wasn't afraid to be alone, but she didn't want to be. Sometime during the last few years she'd made peace with her unrequited love for Ranger. Now she had to learn to work around it, because she wanted a man in her life. Two years without a social orgasm was long enough. Once she left Joe's house she was going to find a man. Temporary, probably, but still there had to be that transitional man, and she'd find him.

Her mind calmed and she drifted back to sleep only to hear the sound of her alarm. Groaning she pulled herself from bed. She didn't want to be late to a meeting with Ranger. This was not just unusual, it hadn't happened before. Since she'd started working for Ranger full-time she'd never had an early morning call to come to his apartment for a meeting. She was curious. It seemed more than coincidence that she would be called to his apartment two mornings in a row.

The room was cool, compliments of a low setting on the air conditioner and her bed was a comfortable haven, but Stephanie dragged herself up out of the depths of her own personal high-thread count cocoon. As she made her way to the bathroom she glanced at the open door to Joe's room. He'd spent the night at Maria's, she could see, and that was not a surprise. Good, she could take a little extra time in the shower since he wasn't likely to be back for a while. When she stepped from the steam-filled room twenty minutes later she was exfoliated, moisturized, and wrapped snuggly in a fluffy towel. She opened the bathroom door and ran smack into Joe.

"Oh!" Her hand instinctively went to the wrap on her towel. "I didn't know you were home."

"I just got here," Joe said. "I was going to bang on the door to let you know you weren't alone." His eyes were lingering on her hand at the seam of her towel, she noticed. Then she noticed something else. His eyes were that dark liquid-chocolate she hadn't seen in a while. Joe was looking at her in a way that was at once both familiar and a little exciting. He wanted her. That hadn't been in evidence for months. Interesting, as well, was the tingle she was feeling in her nether regions. Joe was like comfort food, she realized. Like the biggest plate of mac and cheese, or a huge slice of Entenmann's. For the first time in two years they were both thinking about it, face to face. It wouldn't be awkward. It would be warm and pleasurable.

She wanted to reach out to him. It would only take a second to loosen the towel, but this was Joe and he was committed to someone else. Amazingly, she saw it on his face as she was making her own decision. He stepped back to let her pass. They hadn't touched, but they were both aware of the pull, and Joe was ignoring it. He was denying himself the pleasure of Stephanie. She had pulled back as well. Maybe they were finally grown up and maybe Joe and Maria had a chance. She smiled at him and started toward her bedroom.

"What are you doing up this early?" he asked. "I'm usually gone before you get up."

"Early morning command performance before the boss," she said. "He called and I obey."

"I hope things go well," Joe said. "You think he's still pissed about Julie?"

"Probably, but he said this was business. Don't worry about me, Joe. I can take care of myself." She gave him a sweet and sincere smile and closed her bedroom door after her.


	5. Chapter 5

**I use them for fun and not for profit.**

**Chapter 5**

Ella delivered breakfast for four to the seventh floor apartment early. Ranger had told her he would have visitors, and that Stephanie was one of them. It was about time, she thought. Stephanie had been absent from Ranger's personal life for many years, and although she was important to RangeMan, there was always an undercurrent between the two of them that had nothing to do with business. Ella did the best she could at short notice. There was the usual healthy fare Ranger required and there was a little something for Stephanie.

She was wheeling the cart off the elevator when the electronic lock on the stairwell door buzzed. She turned to see Stephanie, breathing heavily, step through the door.

"Dear," Ella said. "You should have taken the elevator."

"I took the stairs for the exercise," Stephanie told her. "I started to rethink that decision about the third floor, but I made it." She blew out her breath and raised a hand to push curls out of her eyes. "Barely."

Ella fobbed the door open and pushed the breakfast cart inside as Stephanie followed. She heard Ranger's voice before she saw him. Ranger walked from the bedroom, hair still damp from a shower. He was dressed in black cargos and he was shirtless, a white towel slung around his neck. Stephanie's eyes widened as they took him in. The scar from his encounter with Scrog had faded over the years. It was barely visible. Her eyelids lowered as they followed the small trail of dark hair, which disappeared beneath the waistband of his low slung cargoes.

"Don't bother with serving, Ella. My guests will be here soon and…" he stopped speaking as he saw Stephanie's gaze on him. He looked at his watch. "You're early, Stephanie."

"Well, you made it sound like this meeting was really important," she said. She was abrupt and her tone bordered on grouchy, and he remembered mornings were never her best time.

"It is important. If you'll excuse me for a moment." He turned and walked back into his bedroom. A few minutes later he was back in the living room wearing his normal workday uniform of cargos and t-shirt. Ella had departed quietly and they were alone.

It had been years since they'd been alone in his apartment. Another lifetime ago, he thought. She was staring at him so he cleared his throat and began.

"We need to talk, Stephanie."

"I thought this was a business meeting," she responded.

"It is, or it will be. Right now there is something I want to discuss with you privately. Sit down." He gestured to the sofa and she sat.

"When I gave you a job at RangeMan I made a promise to Morelli, and I've kept it. Something has come up that might cause me to break that promise, so I need to know what's going on between the two of you."

Stephanie straightened her spine and looked Ranger directly in the eye. "You know, somehow, that we are divorced. I think that's all you need to know." And then as an afterthought she said, "What did you promise him?"

"I promised him I'd never use you as a distraction, or let you do field work."

"I'd have thought that was something you'd have discussed with me," she said.

"It was, indirectly," Ranger said. "I told you at the time I hired you the job would not involve any field work."

'I remember," she said. "But I didn't know you'd tailored the job to meet Joe's specifications." He could see her temper was rising and he wanted to get to the point before the others came.

"I need to know if you are still involved with Morelli," he said. "I know you are divorced, but you still carry his name and you're living together."

"Why?"

"Why do I need to know?" he asked. At her nod he continued. "I have a new employee who has specifically requested your assistance, in the field."

Stephanie stood, surprise evident on her face. "What new employee? And what field? What are you talking about?"

"Tank and my new employee, R.C. Madrid, will be here in a few minutes. I'll explain everything then, but for now I have to know. Do I need to keep my promise to Morelli?"

There was a knock at the door and they both turned. "I need an answer," he said.

"No," she replied. "I'm pretty much a free agent. I'm moving out soon and Joe is getting remarried. I've tried to keep the divorce quiet for personal reasons, but the news will soon be out."

A second knock sounded. Tank wasn't known for his patience. Ranger walked across the room and into the foyer. He opened the door to two men standing side by side in RangeMan black. "Come in, and let's go to the kitchen. Ella's brought us breakfast." He followed Tank and a man unknown to Stephanie, the man from the stairwell she realized. "C'mon, Babe," Ranger said softly to her. "Let's get this thing going."

There was the usual Ella breakfast of fruit, yogurt and egg white frittata, and there were a half-dozen glazed donuts stacked on a plate and set to the side. Ranger smiled at his housekeeper's propensity for pleasing his guests.

"I need to make some introductions," he said. "R.C. Madrid, this is Stephanie Plu…Morelli."

R.C. stuck out his hand and grasped Stephanie's. He didn't shake it, but gave it a quick squeeze. "I've read a lot about you," he said, smiling widely at her. Ranger noticed her widened eyes. She saw it, too. The resemblance was eerie.

Ranger glanced at Madrid. "You've already met Tank, but Tank knows only part of the backstory, so let's get started."

"What backstory?" Stephanie asked.

"I'm DEA, but I think you already know that," R.C. said, looking toward Tank. Tank nodded he was familiar with that part of the story. "I'm here undercover, with Ranger's permission. I'm posing as a RangeMan employee, and like all new hires, I am starting on the bottom floor, skip tracing."

"What about the other RangeMan employees?" Stephanie asked. "Are they going to be in on this?"

"We're starting by telling you two the entire story," Ranger said. "I plan to bring in Lester and Bobby and let them know the details. Everyone else will be on a limited need to know basis. Most people will just assume he's a regular hire. I've been looking for someone to take on more duties on the investigation side."

Tank rubbed a hand over his smooth head. "I don't know. The guys are pretty tuned in to what goes on around here. No offense, man," he looked at R.C., "but if you're not up to speed there will be suspicion."

"He is up to speed," Ranger said. "You've read his CV, Tank. His experience is real, especially his investigation experience, and if I thought he couldn't do the job, he wouldn't be here in any circumstance."

"How long is this gonna go on?" Tank asked.

"Until I reach my objective," R.C. said. He helped himself to a glazed donut and was rewarded by a smile from Stephanie. Her hand followed his and soon they were both eating donuts.

Ranger didn't eat, but watched his guests. "Do you want me to tell the backstory, or do you want to tell it?" he asked R.C.

"I'll tell it," R.C. said. "I'm looking for a man who is in this country illegally. He is a suspected murderer who is bent on forming a cult following, and we have reason to believe he's trying to base his operation in Trenton."

"A cult?" Stephanie asked. She wasn't sure why she was being included in this early morning meeting. Was this the 'field' Ranger wanted her to go into?

"A cult," R.C. repeated. "The man I'm looking for is named Naldo Montara. He is in this country illegally from Cuba. In Cuba he was a known practitioner of Santeria."

At Tank and Stephanie's puzzled looks Ranger took over. "Santeria is a religion practiced primarily in Cuba and other Caribbean countries, although its popularity is growing in this country. There are small pockets of it throughout the United States. It is, in its most impure form, known as Cuban Voodoo."

"And," continued R.C. "Naldo is practicing it in its most impure form. Santeria is associated with animal sacrifice and we think he has escalated the sacrifices from animal to human."

"Why is the DEA after him? It seems like he would fall into some other agency's scope," Tank said.

"The DEA is after him because he uses drugs in his rituals. Hashish and other, stronger, hallucinogens. The religion bears some surface similarities to Catholicism, but there are differences."

"No kidding," Stephanie said. "The only smoking in the Catholic Church comes from the incense burners and it doesn't make you high."

Ranger took up the story. "Just as the Catholic Church has saints, Santeria religion has orishas. Naldo Montara is not only a practitioner, he is a priest. More than that he's developed a cult following by convincing people that he has special powers, that he is an orisha, come down from heaven. He is Obatala. Only by following him and obeying his law will his followers make their way to heaven."

"It's not satanic," R.C. said, "but it is evil; he is evil. Montara is offering human sacrifices, we're sure of it, but we have no proof. We're not even sure he's working out of Trenton, but there's been a rash of missing young females which leads us to believe he's in the area. He preys on runaways. He gives them a purpose and makes them feel wanted. Our one good lead is that he has a partner, someone who supplies him with drugs, and that person is from Trenton."

"That person is from the Burg," Ranger said.

Stephanie's eyes widened. "Who?"

"Tinley Hicks," Ranger and Madrid spoke in unison.

"I know him," Stephanie said. "Well, I used to know him. He was ahead of me in school, but I remember him. I haven't seen him for ages though."

"I see where all this is going," Tank said. "I saw Connie's roster yesterday. Tinley Hicks is FTA."

"Yes, he is," Ranger said. "Madrid is going to start out doing some skip tracing for us because that's how all of our employees start. The advantage this time is we're hoping Tinley will lead him to Montara."

"I'm a stranger to Trenton," Madrid said. "I'll need a partner and it seemed logical to choose you, Stephanie. Would you be interested in helping me find Tinley Hicks? I understand you have quite a few connections in the Burg."

"I do have connections in the Burg," Stephanie said. "I have family and practically nothing gets by them and I know people, people that might be willing to talk to me, but not to you."

"Are you interested in helping, Babe?" Ranger said. "From something you said earlier I'm thinking this might not be the best time for you to be an obvious presence in the Burg." He could see the thought of getting on the street doing some bounty hunting and stepping away from her research desk was very appealing to her. Her cheeks were flushed with a nice rosy color and her eyes sparkled. He knew what her answer would be before she even said it. But she couldn't just go careening off to catch a skip. He was going to have to see evidence that she was capable. It had been a long time since she'd done anything like that, and truth be known she wasn't that capable when she did it as a full-time job.

"Yes," she said. "I am interested. Grandma Mazur will be in St. Michael's rehab unit for another couple of weeks before her hip is healed enough to move back in with Mom and Dad. She's had lots of visitors and she will be a good place to start." Again Ranger saw animation in her features. She wanted this badly.

"It will be a couple of days before all your licenses come through," Ranger said to R.C. "I can partner you with Stephanie and it won't look strange, especially if you are going after skips from the Burg. Tinley Hicks won't be your only FTA. You'll have to carry a full load in order for your cover to be believable."

Ranger saw Stephanie pop another bite of donut into her mouth and saw there was only one remaining on the plate. The woman was remarkable. He'd remembered her fondness for donuts, but he'd forgotten the size of her appetite, at least for junk food. There were times in the middle of a dark night when he remembered her other appetites. He looked up to see three faces staring at him and refocused.

"Tank, take Stephanie to the range sometime today," he said. "Babe, how long has it been since you've fired a weapon?"

"Not that long," she said. "Lester or Vince or one of the guys makes sure I keep qualified. They think I don't know they have a pool on how many times I'll miss the target completely, but I know." She turned and gave Tank a squinty-eyed stare. "And I know who won last month."

"Nevertheless, I want evidence you're qualified before I put you on the streets in a RangeMan uniform." Ranger told her. "We'll plan on you two partnering up day after tomorrow. That gives us time to get everything set in motion. Tank, you can spend today orienting R.C. to RangeMan. That's all I had," he finished, dismissing them.

"Stephanie, I need to talk to you privately for a moment, if you wouldn't mind staying behind." The men left and Stephanie stayed where she was at the breakfast bar.

Ranger took a small bowl of yogurt from the breakfast tray and began eating. Stephanie remained still, knowing he would speak when he was ready. After he was finished he pushed the bowl away and looked directly at her.

"I wondered if you'd be interested in having dinner with Julie and Scott tonight," he said. "I'm taking them out to a local restaurant. There's not much time to get to know him, as he is leaving to rejoin his unit tomorrow, so I thought I should spend some time with them. I know Julie would enjoy seeing you."

She didn't answer right away. When she slowly nodded her head, Ranger was pleased. "And there's something else. I need, I want to apologize. What you did for Julie and Scott was exactly what needed to be done. I talked to Rachel and while she's not happy with the situation, she was pleased Julie was settled."

"You don't have to apologize," Stephanie said. "I should have checked with you before I helped her get a job with RangeMan. It's your company."

"You did what was the right thing to do," Ranger told her. "I'm thankful you stepped up. I'm sorry I was short with you last night."

"Apology accepted."

"Now," Ranger said. "I want to continue our discussion regarding Morelli."

"Morelli is my business, Ranger," Stephanie said.

"Not entirely," Ranger said. "I want to make sure working as a BEA won't jeopardize whatever your relationship is with him."

"I can't explain it, and I'm not sure I want to," Stephanie said, "but Joe Morelli is my best friend. We are very close. Close enough for us both to realize we function better unmarried. We're almost like brother and sister." She blushed remembering the encounter in the hallway earlier in the morning. She hadn't felt very sisterly, but this morning was the exception, not the norm.

"Brother and sister?" Ranger asked. "Does that mean you've been living together platonically?"

"That's really none of your business," she said. He didn't respond. She was right.

"Joe is getting remarried," Stephanie said. "I mentioned that earlier. He is breaking the news to his family today that we are no longer married, and I'm heading over to my mother's after I leave here. Maria, his fiancée, is a nice person, and very understanding of me and Joe. But understanding or not, I have to move. I'll be homeless in a couple of days if I don't find a place. I'd like to get that settled before I start partnering with R.C."

"Take the apartment on six, the one across from Julie. You can stay as long as you need to, until you can find something more suitable for you."

"Thanks," she said, surprise evident in her voice.

"Talk to Ella. She'll help you get settled."

"I'll talk to her this morning. About qualifying, at the range…"

"Find Tank. He'll take care of it, and call Rodriguez. Tell him you'll be taking some time off and ask him to step in for you. He's been retired long enough he might want to get a fix, by being back in the swing of things."

"No."

Ranger raised an eyebrow at her quick refusal. "I can do my job and still help R.C.," she said. "I've worked hard to build a good group of researchers and I can handle the searches I need to do, and take a little time out to catch skips. It will be fun."

"Good luck with your family," he said as she prepared to leave.

"Thanks, but I know exactly how my mother will take this news. Do you need anything ironed?"


	6. Chapter 6

**I use them for fun and not for profit.**

**Chapter 6**

The restaurant was upscale and new to Trenton. Stephanie had never been there before and was looking forward to having a great meal because early reviews on the restaurant were fabulous. Ranger was bringing Julie and Scott and he had offered to pick her up, but that seemed too weird. He and Morelli were mostly friendly, but she had worked hard to keep her private life…well, private. Even if the news of her two-year-old divorce was about to send the Burg grapevine into overdrive.

When Ranger had offered the apartment on six, her initial response had been to say no. She'd quickly reconsidered. She needed a place to hide away, because she was going to look like the injured party. Joe had already replaced her. In typical Burg tradition, church ladies would be lined up with casseroles and condolences, and trying hard to get the real story from the source. Living at RangeMan would seriously derail the sympathy train and that was a good thing.

Joe was careful with his reaction to Stephanie's announcement she was moving out the next day. He was happy to be moving forward and in a way she was happy as well. Her moving forward was a little less well defined than his. And that's why she made the decision to meet Ranger and his family at the restaurant, rather than letting him pick her up. She didn't want anyone to get the idea she was moving toward Ranger. Working at RangeMan was acceptable. So was living in the building as long as it was temporary. Other employees had done it before her and others would do it after.

Ranger had withdrawn from her completely when she'd announced her decision to marry Joe. He knew she loved him, and she knew he cared about her, but he was unwilling to make any commitment. She'd never thought of demanding a ring and a vow from him, but he wouldn't even bend his rule and afford her girlfriend status. She wouldn't be anyone's booty call, not even Ranger's. He set the no relationship rules and she'd followed them the only way she could.

She'd committed to Joe, whom she also loved. Joe was at the opposite end of the relationship see-saw. He wanted the ultimate commitment and he'd given her an ultimatum. Marriage or nothing. She'd accepted his proposal because even with her uncertainty about marriage, she was certain she wouldn't be able to withstand the loss of both the men she loved.

Ranger's absence in her life was one of the harder things she'd had to adjust to after her marriage. She fully accepted the loss of their sexual relationship, but his friendship, his acceptance of her, warts and all, well, that had been a devastating loss. She knew he kept a watchful eye on her, but he rarely spoke to her, communicating instead through Tank, Lester or Bobby. They accepted her into their ranks and for the most part treated her like a sister.

There were boundaries they didn't cross. Occasionally though, she'd seen a gleam in Lester's eye, something not at all brotherly. She was worried how the news of her divorce and subsequent move into RangeMan would change that.

A knock on her window startled her and drew her attention back to the present. She'd been driving on auto-pilot and was unnerved to find she'd pulled her little Miata into the circular drive of Jerome's. The valet was standing aside, waiting patiently for her to hit the unlock button so he could assist her from the car. She did so and looked up into the smiling and familiar face of an enormous man. He pulled her car door open and stepped back giving her room to stand.

"Good evening, Ms. Plum," he said as he held out his hand for her keys.

"Good evening," Stephanie answered. She thought she knew him, but couldn't place him. She fought and lost the battle not to stare. The huge man somehow doubled himself in two and slowly slid onto the driver's seat. It was a mystery how his Sasquatch feet were going to work the clutch and brake pedals.

"Ranger is already inside," he told her as he attempted to close the driver's door. The door bounced off his thigh and he sighed as he held the door mostly shut with his hand. Stephanie stood and watched him motor off toward the valet lot. Her little car was listing badly and she hoped he could park it before he tipped it over. He'd called her Ms. Plum and she wondered if he'd been one of her skips. Shrugging her shoulders, knowing it would come to her eventually, she walked into the restaurant.

The ambience was one of understated elegance and Stephanie was glad she'd opted for her black dress instead of the slacks and blouse she would have been more comfortable wearing. Soft strains of music emanated from the lounge and she looked in to see a tiny dance floor. It was early and the lounge was sparsely populated, the dance floor empty. Her heart skipped a beat. This was just dinner; surely she wouldn't have to dance with Ranger. It was a celebration of Julie and Scott's marriage. Oh crap, there could be dancing.

Before she could fully form the image of her dancing with Ranger, the maître d' made his way toward her.

"Ms. Morelli?" he asked. At her nod he continued, "Your party has already arrived and was just seated. Let me escort you to them." She followed the waiter into the dining room and saw Ranger, Scott and Julie seated at an inconspicuous table. Ranger's back was to the wall and he had a clear view of the room. Some things never changed.

As she approached the table Scott and Ranger stood. In a preemptive strike, Scott pulled her chair out for her before Ranger or the maître d' had a chance. Stephanie smiled at Scott. He was so genuine, and so young, and so much in love with his young wife. It was easy to see.

"Stephanie, you look beautiful," Julie told her.

"Thank you, Julie, but I should be telling you that." Julie's face was glowing with excitement and Stephanie found she was looking forward to the evening. The young couple had stepped forward to proclaim their love and start their married life on their own terms, in spite of parental disapproval, and Stephanie was quietly rooting for them. She didn't think it was appropriate to place herself in a position between Julie and her parents, but she was glad she'd helped them get settled.

The conversation died out as the waiter approached the table. After orders were taken, Julie leaned across the table toward Stephanie. "I need to go to the ladies' room. Will you come with me?"

Stephanie smiled and the two made their way across the restaurant. As they walked into the ladies' room they were faced with their reflections from an antique mirror placed above a Victorian fainting couch. Stephanie used the opportunity to make a quick comparison. She felt old standing next to Julie, although Julie looked well beyond her eighteen years in the midnight blue dress and matching stilettos. Her only jewelry was the small, but sparkling Tiffany set diamond ring and matching wedding band. She'd inherited her father's skin tone. Her eyes were dark brown and almond-shaped and gave her an exotic look.

Stephanie looked at her own reflection in comparison. The time bomb that would explode her Hungarian fat-fighting gene hadn't blown up yet, even though her mother insisted the countdown was nearing t minus zero. Stephanie had tried unsuccessfully to curb her appetite for junk food, so she'd started working out, a little. It was still unusual to see her at the gym at RangeMan, but it happened occasionally. Her face was mostly unlined and her hair still a rich brown and wildly curly. She knew she was aging and at times she felt a new twinge or ache, but for the most part she felt and looked good.

The days when RangeMan used her for a distraction job were long gone. She'd thought they'd probably used one of Lester's nubile dates, but now she wondered if they'd quit using her because of Joe. It would be fun to do a distraction again. Maybe she'd say something to Tank or Lester.

She slanted her gaze back to Julie. This girl would be perfect for those sorts of jobs, but she knew Ranger would never allow it. As they made their way back to the table, Stephanie watched Julie. Her body was lithe, with subtle curves in the right places. She moved with a grace that was unconscious and eyes, both masculine and feminine, watched as she walked across the small elegant dining room at Jerome's.

The restaurant was upscale and quiet and a perfect place for a father-daughter reunion of sorts. Stephanie hoped she could facilitate good conversation between Scott, Julie and Ranger. Ranger was not a casual conversationalist, so Stephanie was a little worried. She thought the evening had to go well, because she knew it was important to Julie that her husband and father form some sort of bond before Scott left to go to a war zone. It was perhaps more important than Julie and Ranger forming a bond, Stephanie thought.

Ranger loved his daughter, she had no doubt, but Ranger was not big on showing emotions. Physically they were very much alike, both of them stunning and head-turningly attractive. She thought they might have a similar emotional make up as well. Julie had to be at least a little melancholy because her husband of just a few days was leaving in the morning, and she was starting a new life. Her face was as carefully emotionless as her father's.

Stephanie was drawn to Julie. She had been since they met under the worst of circumstances when the girl was just ten years old. She made an unspoken promise to watch out for her, to be her friend, because she thought Julie was going to need a friend in the future.

Renewing her determination that the evening go well, she took control of the pre-dinner conversation. "So, tell me how you two met," Stephanie said, directing her question to Scott.

"She tutored me," he said.

"You mean you tutored her," Stephanie corrected. Scott was three years older than Julie.

"No," Julie said. "I tutored him." Her dark eyes were dancing with merriment, but her face was unsmiling. Stephanie was amazed at the resemblance to her father's face. The corners of Julie's mouth tilted slightly, in the same way Ranger's did when he was trying to hold back a smile.

"I was a freshman," Julie continued, "and Scott was a senior. We were in the same calculus class."

"You took calculus as a freshman?" Stephanie questioned.

Julie shrugged, "I'm gifted." She said it matter-of-factly, the way someone else would say I'm tall. It was intrinsically a part of her, also like her father. "Scott was struggling and I helped him."

"She did," Scott agreed. He looked at his wife with a mixture of pride and tenderness and Stephanie felt her heart contract.

"I'm not much of a mathematician," Scott said. "I wouldn't have passed if it wasn't for Julie."

"We spent a lot of time together after school, sometimes in the library, but usually at my house. And then one day he asked me out."

"Her mother wouldn't let Julie date me," Scott said, "because she thought I was too old for Julie. She did let us spend time together at their house. We never really dated, but we've been together for almost four years."

Stephanie thought about what she was hearing. She had sympathy for Rachel, Ranger's ex-wife. Scott might have been too old for Julie, when he was seventeen and Julie was fourteen. She remembered her first time with an eighteen-year-old Morelli. Stephanie and Julie were different, though, because when Helen Plum told Stephanie she couldn't do something, Stephanie did it anyway. She'd mastered an escape plan from her second-story bedroom. Stephanie was amazed at the way Julie and Scott had accepted the parental edict and worked within its confines.

"After high school I went to college in Miami for a couple of years, but it wasn't for me," Scott said. "I decided to join the Army. I want to be Special Forces and I was accepted into Ranger school, but I decided to put it off until after my first deployment."

Ranger had never been a social talker, but Stephanie noted he leaned forward with interest when Scott started talking about his decision to leave college and join the Army.

"So Scott and I decided to get married," Julie said. "Mom wanted me to stay in Miami and go to college. I want to go to college, but I wanted to be married to Scott more."

"It's not a choice, though," Scott said hurriedly. "I mean she can do both, and she will."

"We know he's going to a war zone," Julie said, "and we decided to get married before he left."

"What's your estimated length of deployment?" Ranger asked.

"Twelve months, sir," Scott replied. "It's really just an estimate though. It could be as long as fifteen or even eighteen months. When I come home I'll go to Fort Benning, to start Ranger school."

The waiter arrived with their meal and there was a temporary lull in the conversation, but the ice had finally been broken. Ranger and Scott discussed the military and then Ranger talked to both Julie and Scott and told them a little about the organization of RangeMan. When the waiter came to remove the dinnerware and ask about dessert there was an easiness about the group that had been missing before the meal.

Stephanie waited for Julie or Scott to ask for a dessert menu, because she knew Ranger wouldn't. She looked toward him and was taken aback to see he was smiling at her. He'd read her thoughts. He knew she wanted dessert.

The smile still in place, Ranger shifted his gaze to his daughter. "Ella has a surprise for you waiting at my apartment. Wedding cake, and champagne to toast the bride and groom. Something we couldn't do with our meal tonight as you haven't reached the legal drinking age, Julie."

Julie clapped her hands in delight. "Stephanie, will you come, too?"

Stephanie hesitated. This was a family celebration and she'd served her function. She'd facilitated the conversation and thought they could get along fine without her. But it was wedding cake. "Of course," she said in response to Julie's question. Her eyes widened as she was treated to the full-on Ranger smile, the first one directed her way in years. The rat bastard. She didn't know why, but she knew she'd been played. He had an agenda of some sort.

There was a small group of diners waiting for their cars to be brought up by the valet. As they stood waiting their turn Julie stood next to Stephanie and said softly, "Ranger told me you're moving into the other apartment on six. We'll be neighbors."

"I am," Stephanie said, "but just temporarily. I'm looking for something bigger and more permanent. Ranger likes to keep at least one apartment open for emergencies."

"And that's a good thing," Julie said. "Because you were the emergency that apartment was waiting for. I'm sorry, Stephanie," Julie hesitated before she continued. "About your divorce, I mean."

"It's okay. Joe and I are very good friends. We divorced a couple of years ago, but we decided to keep it quiet for a while. It's time to let people know."

"Are you going to be Stephanie Plum again?" Julie asked.

"I'm not sure," Stephanie said. It was a good question. Should she take back her maiden name? She hadn't kept Orr after her first marital fiasco. She'd kept Morelli at the time of the divorce to maintain the fiction of her marriage, but now there would be a new Mrs. Joe Morelli. Maybe it was time to reclaim her old self. After all, she was going be working as a bounty hunter soon, with a new and hot, albeit young, partner. She'd call her brother-in-law, Albert, in the morning and get the process started.

Julie was looking from her to Ranger and Stephanie felt uneasy. She hoped the girl wasn't doing any mental matchmaking. Stephanie looked to Scott to find him looking speculatively between her and Ranger as well.

Julie had been confiding in her husband. That was plain to see. Her disappointment at the age of twelve upon hearing of Stephanie's marriage to Joe had come through loud and clear in the Facebook messages they'd exchanged. Now, there was a glimmer of hope in Julie's eyes. There was never going to be anything between her and Ranger, but Julie still held some hope apparently.

Stephanie casually let her gaze drift toward Ranger. His face, typically devoid of all emotion, gave nothing away. She wondered if he was aware of the undercurrents and then decided she didn't give a damn. Ranger could have had her, years ago. After the Scrog shooting they were poised to really begin a relationship, but he'd pulled back, and finally, she'd realized it would never happen with Ranger. He cared about her, but he would never compromise on his no-relationship rule.

He'd stayed true to his word. There had never been anyone he'd been involved with long term. She'd heard rumblings from time to time. Men were just as gossipy as women, and the men of RangeMan sometimes hinted Ranger was seeing someone. Most of it was speculation, because their boss' private life was just that, private. And that line of thinking brought her back to the place she'd been when she arrived at the restaurant. She shook her head and with effort brought her thoughts from the past into the now. She saw her little red car making its way toward her and watched as it came to a halt and the big, familiar man unfolded himself from her car.

"Stephanie," Ranger put a hand out and held her back as she started moving toward her car. "Would you mind if Scott and Julie took your car back to RangeMan? I have a business matter I need to discuss with you. We could do it on the way back to RangeMan."

"Uhm," Stephanie was momentarily speechless and distrustful. Was this his agenda? He said he needed to discuss business. "That would be fine," she replied.

"Great," Scott said. "Your car looks fun to drive." He and Julie moved toward the Miata and the large man who was standing next to the open door with the keys in his hand.

Stephanie turned to Ranger. "Who is that guy? He looks so familiar, but I can't place him."

"That's Eddie," Ranger said. "He used to be the bouncer at Shorty's."

"Ohhh," Stephanie said. "I remember him. It's been forever since I ate at Shorty's."

"You just did," Ranger said. "He owns this place."

"Shorty owns Jerome's?" she questioned. "What happened to Shorty's?"

"Nothing. It's still there. He found a partner and he's expanding."

Eddie approached Ranger and Stephanie. "I'll be right back with your car, boss."

_A/N: I thought the ending of this chapter was little abrupt, so I decided to post twice today. Chapter 7 will soon be posted._


	7. Chapter 7

**I use them for fun and not for profit.**

**Chapter 7**

Eddie closed the passenger door and Stephanie busied herself for a moment by fastening her seatbelt. She was trying to collect her thoughts. She couldn't wrap her mind around Ranger being a restaurateur. As they pulled out of the circular drive and into traffic she swiveled in her seat.

"You're the owner of Jerome's?" she asked.

"I'm an investor," he replied.

"Shorty. You invested money in Shorty?" Why she was so surprised was in itself a surprise.

"Yes, I invested money in Shorty. Why not? He makes the best pizza in the tri-state area. When he told me of his long-time plan to open an upscale restaurant it seemed like it would be the right thing to do. Lend him money, I mean."

"Pizza is a long way from the cuisine at Jerome's."

"It is," Ranger said. "Shorty is a Cordon Blue trained chef."

"Shorty? He trained in Paris?" Stephanie remembered her first glance at Shorty, the proprietor of what was, including Pino's, the best pizza joint around. He was short, round, hairy and tattooed. She also remembered that he wore a white chef's shirt and his kitchen was pristine.

"Chicago."

"What?" Stephanie said.

"Chicago. He trained in Chicago. He planned to use Shorty's to finance the restaurant he dreamed of owning. I just helped to expedite his plan. So far, Jerome's is operating in the black. I'm a minor partner, but Eddie, for some reason, calls me boss."

"I don't know why I'm so surprised. How'd he pick the name Jerome?"

"It's his middle name."

"Well, I figured Shorty was just a nickname."

"Shorty is his first name, Babe. Shorty Jerome Smith."

She shot Ranger a look. There was no hint of a smile on his face.

"You're making this up," she said.

"You're in research. Look it up." She would. She decided. She would look it up and find out if he was playing with her.

"What I've said is fact," he told her. "You can't judge a book by its cover." Again she shot Ranger a look.

"Is that true?" she asked him, "because I think your cover is designed specifically so people will judge you."

"You're right of course," he said. "I used to wear my hair long and wear my weapons openly. I wanted people to look at me and think 'badass'. It was my cover. Now I want them to look at me and judge me as a successful business man."

That put an end to her conversation. She was a little disappointed he'd capitulated so quickly. She had no idea where to go next. Should she ask him if she should judge him by his recent actions? Because the way he'd treated her when she'd helped Julie would certainly shade her judgment of him, but then he'd apologized for that.

"I have something specific I want to discuss with you, Stephanie. I want to make sure you are comfortable working with Madrid. You don't have to do this. It's outside the scope of the position you were hired for."

"I want to do it."

"Then there is something I want you to do first," Ranger said.

"Okay."

"Research him."

"R.C. Madrid?"

"Yes. You're good at making connections in ways that other people don't. You have a unique gift for it. Spend a couple of days, if necessary, and delve into every aspect of his life. If you need to get into databases you don't have access to, talk to Silvio."

"Silvio!" Stephanie's surprise showed. When Ranger had closed down the Miami office and moved operations into Trenton, Silvio and Ranger had come to a peaceful parting of the ways. Silvio hadn't wanted to leave Miami and Ranger hadn't pushed the issue.

"Silvio still works for me on an as needed basis. I'll give you a login and password that will enable you to communicate with him. I don't expect you to find anything earth-shattering, but Madrid isn't being totally straight with us. He is withholding information, and I want to find out why."

"How do you know?" Stephanie asked.

"I know. Naldo Montara, the man he is trying to get, is everything Madrid said he is. What Madrid didn't say is Montara is his half-brother. I want to know why he's hiding that fact and I want to know what else he is hiding."

"I'm supposed to start tomorrow," Stephanie said.

"Take tomorrow off and use it to move. Settle anything you need to personally. Start your research whenever you're ready. I'll hold him off for a couple of days. I'll have Connie partner him with Lester or Tank. I'll tell him it's part of his cover, then I'll send you to him when we have the information we need."

Ranger slowed down and turned into the underground garage at RangeMan. Her little red car was in its allotted space, and the newlyweds were, apparently, hiding behind fogged windows. "Shit," Ranger said. He sounded weary, as if this entire thing was a little more than he could handle. "There's more I need to say. They will probably want to stay long enough to have cake and champagne and then they'll leave. Scott's leaving tomorrow, early. I imagine they'll want some alone time. Stay after for a few minutes so we can finish up."

"Okay." Stephanie's head was spinning. Ranger had complimented her skills. For six years she had worked at RangeMan with little acknowledgement from him that she did anything right. Now, he was entrusting her with a confidential search like no other she'd done. Yeah, she'd stay and hear the rest of the story. It was a pretty good story, so far.

The wedding cake was centered on Ranger's kitchen bar. There was a sterling silver bucket with a bottle of champagne chilling. Crystal cake plates were set out around the cake and there was a silver knife and cake server decorated with white bows. Champagne glasses were lined up next to the bucket. Four, Stephanie noted. Someone had been expecting her. Ella, or Ranger? Probably Ella, but Ella mostly worked on Ranger's orders. Something to think about later. The lights in the kitchen had been dimmed. All in all, it was a very nice setting.

Stephanie looked over as Julie saw the cake and uttered a soft "Oh!" There were tears in the young bride's eyes and Stephanie felt a suspicious moistness in hers as well. The couple had made the decision to elope and then had come to a man the bride barely knew. He hadn't turned her away, but he hadn't exactly welcomed her with open arms. The wedding cake represented a giant step forward in the relationship she had with her father. Julie was quite obviously touched. Stephanie found the irritation she'd had with Ranger the day before to be diminished.

"Thank you, Ranger, uhm, Dad," Her uncertainty about what to call him caused a small blush to rise in her cheeks.

"You're welcome. Do you want to call me Ranger?"

"I'd like to call you Dad, but..."

"Then call me Dad," he said. Julie walked to him and threw her arms around his neck. She had a deep affection for Ranger, Stephanie knew that. It was almost a case of hero-worship, because when Julie was kidnapped by Scrog, her father saved her, in a larger than life way. It warmed her heart immensely to see Julie's arms around Ranger's neck and to see Ranger's arms come up to hug his daughter, even if his normal blank expression was temporarily replaced by one of unease. Stephanie glanced at Scott to see a small smile on his face and she realized it was important for him to know Julie would be safe when he was gone.

"I can't take all the credit for this," Ranger told his daughter. "I told Ella to get a cake. She did the rest, and she left this note on the counter." Ranger picked up a paper napkin with a hand scrawled message. _Call me before you cut the cake, Ella._

Ranger made the call and disconnected. "She'll be right up. She wants to be here when you cut the cake."

While they waited, Stephanie inspected the cake. It was small, just two layers and covered in a fluffy white frosting. On the top layer there was a bouquet of beautiful lavender sugar roses. It was simple, yet elegant. It was perfect. Seconds later, they heard the click of the entry door lock and Ella came bustling in to the kitchen.

"I thought there should be pictures," she said. With typically Ella efficiency she organized the event. There were pictures of Julie cutting the cake and pictures of Scott feeding cake to Julie. There was a picture of Ranger lifting his glass in a toast to the new couple and a picture of Julie and Scott, arms intertwined, drinking a toast to one another.

"I think I have enough," Ella said when she'd taken several pictures. "I'll post these on Facebook and tag you, Julie."

"Facebook?" Ranger's expression turned grim.

"Yes, Ranger," Ella said. "Julie and I are friends on Facebook."

"Don't put any photo that has me in it on the internet," Ranger said. "I pay people large amounts of money to keep me offline."

"I understand," Ella said. "I'd never put you on the internet, but this is Facebook. It's private." She turned and was gone as quickly as she'd come." Ranger's groan was still echoing through the apartment as the door shut behind her.

"Don't worry, Dad," Julie said. "I'll take care of it." The conversation waned as they ate their cake. It was wonderful and Stephanie watched with no small amount of amazement as Ranger carefully ate his cake. He left the frosting on the plate. Stephanie noticed the lingering looks that were occurring more and more frequently between Scott and Julie. Ranger noticed as well. He picked up the champagne bucket and handed it to Scott. He handed two glasses to Julie. "Go," he said, and they did.

He turned to Stephanie. "Would you like another piece of cake?"

"Oh, no, but thank you." He walked to the counter and picked up the knife. The slice was large and contained almost a full rose. He handed it to her wordlessly and indicated by a tilt of his head she should follow him.

They settled themselves in the living room, he in the big leather chair and she on the edge of the couch. She ate and he watched her and suddenly it seemed to Stephanie there was a comfort between them that had been missing for quite a long time.

"Tell me about Morelli, Babe."

"You know everything," she said. "I'm moving out and Maria is moving in. They're getting married."

"I know the facts, but I want to hear the story," he said. So she told him.

"You may not like what you hear," she warned him, "but I'll tell you the truth."

She started at the beginning. She told him of her hurt when he had shut her out after her confession of love. She told him about Joe's ultimatum, marriage or nothing, and how she was still reeling with hurt from the realization she meant nothing more to Ranger than a dalliance.

"I was afraid to lose Joe. I'd already lost you."

"You didn't lose me, Babe."

"No, I didn't," Stephanie said, "because I never really had you. I thought we were friends, but you just disappeared from my life."

"What else could I do?" Ranger asked. "Morelli allowed you to come to work for me. I needed to keep you safe and it was the only way I could think to do it. I cared, care, for you, but I'll never be relationship material. It just won't happen. I didn't want to put myself between you and your husband, so I backed way off."

"How did you know we divorced?" she asked.

"It doesn't matter how," he said. "I thought you might come and tell me, but you didn't and then you didn't move out. I knew Joe was seeing other women after the divorce, but you still stayed. Why?"

"Joe and I realized we'd made a big mistake, but he didn't cheat on me. He came to me and told me he wanted out. I wanted out, but when he said it to me first I didn't handle it very well. He felt bad. He said we could get divorced and I could live with him. We did it at first, because I didn't want my mother to know, and I didn't want anyone at RangeMan to know. My relationships with the guys are important to me and I was afraid if I was single, there would be…complications."

"What kind of complications?"

"I thought if Joe was out of the picture something might start between us."

"Would that be so bad?"

"I can't be just a fuck buddy, Ranger, and I don't think you can be anything else. And not just that anyway, there were other people I didn't want to know."

"Who?"

"Lester."

"Santos?" Ranger's voice was a growl. "Has he been giving you problems?"

"No, but he's attracted to me. I like the easy camaraderie we have between us now. I don't want it to change." Ranger was silent, thinking maybe about Lester, maybe about being fuck buddies. Stephanie couldn't tell and she didn't really want to know.

"Did you see the way they were hanging on to each other when they left?" Ranger asked, apropos of nothing.

"I did," Stephanie said softly. "They're young, but so much in love. It makes me feel happy and for some reason a little sad at the same time. Does it make you feel happy and sad?"

"It makes me feel sad and proud at the same time."

"If you are proud of Julie you picked a fine way to show it when you bit my head off for helping them."

"Babe."

"Don't Babe me, Ranger. I thought it was your plan to get her settled at RangeMan."

"It was my plan to get her settled away from RangeMan and be on her own. I thought she'd give it up and go back to her mother."

"Why don't you want her here?"

"I just told you I don't do relationships."

"She's your daughter. You've been doing a relationship with her since she was born. How you chose to interact with her has always been your business, but she has choices regarding your relationship as well.

"You think she came here to be close to me? I think she came here to get away from her mother. There is a difference."

Stephanie sensed uncertainty in Ranger and that was rare. Maybe the 'I can't do relationships' meant exactly that. Maybe he didn't know how, and maybe Julie was a good place to start. She knew better than to verbalize that thought, but it was something else to think about.

She looked at him in his big leather chair. His head was tilted back exposing a long line of throat. He stared off into the nothingness of the dark corner of the room. She noticed for the first time the little signs of age on his face. Her gaze lowered. His body showed no signs of age. She knew he worked out every day, as did most of his men. She wondered how he kept so fit now that his job was mostly behind a desk. It was a rare thing for him to go after a skip.

That thought led her to consider how she'd perform when she was back on the street. She loved the research she did for RangeMan and knew it was important. It was going to be more important when the private investigating division of RangeMan really took off. She might even get a PI license. She became aware of the silence in the room and aware that Ranger had turned his gaze to her. It still zinged between them, whatever _it _was.

The silence that had been companionable was becoming less comfortable. The pull between them was getting stronger and in a sudden burst of movement she stood and walked quickly back to the kitchen. She set the cake plate on the counter and swiped her finger along the edge of the plate. The last remaining part of the frosting rose balanced on her fingertip precariously, until she popped it into her mouth.

She closed her eyes momentarily savoring the sweetness on her tongue. When she opened them she was staring directly into Ranger's eyes. She recognized the signs. This wasn't a friendly look at all. It was feral and she was the prey. Her head moved slightly, just the barest of shake from side to side. This couldn't happen, but they both wanted it. She grabbed her purse from the table where she'd dropped it and stared him down.

"I'm leaving. I'll call you if I need to contact Silvio and I'll bring you my report as soon as I've completed it."

He nodded and stepped back to let her pass. "About your research on Madrid," he said. "I don't want anyone to know what you're looking at." She nodded and slipped by him and quickly made her way through the apartment and out the door. Her heart was pounding wildly when she fobbed open the lock of her Miata and it had nothing to do with the run she'd just made down seven flights of stairs.


	8. Chapter 8

**I use them for fun and not for profit.**

**Chapter 8**

The move from Joe's house, their house, to the RangeMan apartment went smoothly. Most of what was community property she left behind, just as she had when she'd left Dickie. She was an almost forty one-year-old woman with no toaster, and while it could have been depressing, she found it somehow freeing. The apartment at RangeMan was fully furnished so she had the use of a toaster in any case, and a Keurig, and she had those wonderful high thread count sheets that were Ella's mystery shopping secret. No one knew where she found them and no other sheets felt just like them.

As she entered the elevator with her last load she saw a big black hand come around the elevator door and hold it open a little longer for her. "Thanks," she told Tank. He was looking at her curiously. She'd thought Ranger would have told Tank, but maybe it was her place.

"I'm moving out of Joe's and into RangeMan," she said. He didn't seem surprised or disconcerted by the news. What he said next left her with her mouth agape, and definitely left her disconcerted.

"You moving in on seven?"

"No. I'm taking the other apartment on six, across from Julie. It's just temporary until I find something suitable."

"Shit," Tank mumbled. "It will be like a girl's floor at a college dormitory. You'll probably be having sleepovers."

"So what if we are?" she asked him. She was happy he was more concerned with her and Julie living in close proximity that he was about her leaving Joe. She never liked to be the center of attention, although she found herself in that spot many a time.

"You better damn well put up a sign that lists the visiting hours for men," Tank told her. She thought he was joking, but it was Tank, so she couldn't be sure.

"You'd better take care of that," she told him. "It's your men I'd be leading astray. Julie is a newlywed and Ranger's daughter. I think she's safe from being hassled."

"So are you," Tank said, "because you are a RangeMan employee. If you have any trouble, you come to me." She was strangely touched by his words. He and Ranger had talked after all it seemed.

"Thanks, Tank." The door to six slid open and she hefted the box higher on her hip and made her way to her new home. The couch was neutral both in design and color, but it was comfy. She flopped down on it and looked at the boxes, suitcases and laundry baskets she'd dropped helter-skelter. There'd be time to get settled and unpacked later. It was one p.m. and her breakfast of a Boston Crème had been a full six hours ago.

She pulled her phone out of her pocket and dialed Julie. Scott had been scheduled to leave earlier in the morning. Julie was going to go into the bonds office sometime today to sign papers and get ready to start work the next day. This might be a good time for a girl's day out. They were both beginning new phases of their lives, but not this afternoon.

Julie's nasal sounding "Hello," confirmed Stephanie's suspicions. It wasn't time for solitary tears. It was time for pizza and a visit to the Plum household for a Burg gossip update.

They didn't have pizza. Julie had never in all of her eighteen years had a meatball sub and Stephanie couldn't let that go any longer. Pino's was local and there were looks of speculation when Stephanie walked through the door. It was unclear if the speculation was about her and Joe, or who the tall, beautiful, young girl with her was. It was probably both. They ate without interruption, but when they got up to leave Carl Costanza made his way to them.

"You're here a little past your lunch hour, aren't you?" he asked.

"Yeah, but so are you," Stephanie replied.

"We had a homicide to work this morning," he said. "It put us off schedule."

"Did Joe draw it?" she asked.

"Yeah, and it was a bad one. Young woman, mutilated," he stopped abruptly and looked toward Julie. Stephanie was used to this kind of police talk, but not everyone was.

"Carl, this is Julie Freeman, Ranger's daughter."

"I thought it was you," Carl told Julie. "You won't remember me, but I was there the day your father was shot." What was left unsaid was it was the day a brave ten-year-old girl had shot the man who'd kidnapped her and by doing so had possibly saved her father's life. "It's good to see you all grown up." He reached out and patted her arm and Julie rewarded him with a smile.

Carl leaned closer to Stephanie. "How are you doing?" Carl may have been a police officer, but he'd been her friend since second grade. His loyalties would lie with her if he had to choose, but he didn't have to.

"I'm good, Carl. It was a mutual decision and Joe is still one of my best friends. After the Burg gets over it, things will be just fine."

They left the restaurant and, because the day was sunny and not sweltering, Stephanie put the top down on her Miata. She took the long way from Pino's to her mother's. When they pulled up her mother was standing in the doorway. It gave Stephanie a jolt because it was her mother and not Grandma Mazur. Grandma was still in St. Michael's rehab facility and although she was doing well and would soon be home it was a warning to Stephanie.

Gravity hadn't been kind to Grandma and she'd looked more than her years for a long time. Her age was finally catching up to her looks. She'd been a spry seventy something when Stephanie had married Joe. Now she was in her eighties and Stephanie knew the time was coming when the Burg residents would be lining up to see her grandma. It would be an open coffin. It was in her will. She refocused on her mom in the doorway.

"C'mon, Julie," she said. "You moved from Miami to get away from your disapproving mother. It's only fair I share mine with you." Helen was gracious, remembering the last time she'd met Julie. She didn't bring up the subject of failed marriage number two, but Stephanie knew it was on her mind. They had warm pineapple upside down cake at her mother's kitchen table and then they decided to visit Grandma Mazur.

St. Michael's rehab facility was a small wing attached to the larger assisted living and nursing home. Grandma was in a private room and was sitting in a recliner watching a re-run of the Nanny. Her eyes lit up when she saw her visitors. The hip fracture and subsequent surgery had taken a little zip out of her grandma, but her mind was sharp. And the news had reached her. "Where are you gonna live now?" she asked Stephanie. "Mabel came to visit and said you're moving in with Ranger. Is that true?"

Stephanie was surprised this piece of news had made it around so quickly. "I'm moving into an apartment Ranger owns," she said.

"Well, he's getting a little age on him, but I imagine the man's still got a nice package. You should move in with him." At Julie's giggle Stephanie decided to change the subject.

"I'm going to be doing a little bounty hunting again. I thought maybe you could help me with some information."

"Sure I could. This place is a hot bed of gossip. Who are you trying to find?"

"Tinley Hicks," Stephanie said. "Do you know him?"

"No, but I do know his worthless granddaddy. I never had no liking for that man. I'll keep my ears peeled for the 911."

"The 411, Grandma."

"Yeah, that too."

Stephanie took Julie back to RangeMan and made her promise to call if she needed company, and then she went to her office. She was determined to find out everything she could about the man she would soon be partnering with.

Part of the reason she was good at research was she was naturally curious. It was like putting together a puzzle. She ferreted out little pieces of information and then when she had enough pieces she put the puzzle together. The picture at the end was always worth the work. She'd gathered an amazing amount of information on Santeria, and a fair amount on Naldo Montara, but nothing damning. Ranger had told her to research R.C. Madrid, and she was getting background before she dove into the main event. The search engines available to her were far superior to the Google-searching Grandma and her friends did. She could probably get a pretty good backlog of information on R.C. without using Silvio. On the other hand, if she could get into the DEA's personnel files, her work time might be cut in half.

When she accumulated all the data she could she picked up the desk phone and called Ranger.

"You're in the office late," he said.

"I'm in the middle of something good, and I don't want to quit. I need the login and password we talked about."

"I'm upstairs. I'll be down in five." Stephanie heard the dial tone in her ear and sighed. Brief and to the point. On some level she appreciated that, but hello and goodbye were never wrong. She leaned back in her chair and stretched to work the kinks out and then she waited.

She didn't hear the stairwell door or the elevator door open. Ranger was suddenly just standing in the doorway to her office. "Babe, it's 2100. You've got as long as you need with this."

"I'm putting off unpacking. I thought this would be a better use of my time."

"Let me sit for a moment," he said, indicating he wanted to use her computer. She stood and he sat and immediately began typing. When he motioned her back over, there was a new icon on her desktop. "This will be here for twenty-four hours and then it will disappear. When you open it, it will ask you to choose a password, also good for twenty-four hours. You can email him, or right now you can message him as he's available if you want to chat. Request the information you need and it will arrive securely. You can make notes, but you won't be able to download or save anything he sends you."

"Thanks," Stephanie said. "Do you use Silvio often?"

"Often enough, but no one else is aware that we, Silvio and I, are still in contact. You should keep the connection quiet."

"No problem."

"Don't stay down here all night," he said. "Did you get hold of Rodriguez?"

"No. There is no need. I'll delegate what I can, and I'll work evenings on the stuff that's mine."

"You'll be overworked."

"Maybe, but I'm not giving my job away." He stood for a moment letting her words sink in. He reached out his hand and ruffled her curly hair, something he hadn't done in years. Electricity shot through her, but she remained still, hoping he wasn't feeling it as well. She glanced up briefly and one look at his face told her he felt it. He turned and left the office and she went back to work.

The next morning Stephanie was up and dressed by six o'clock. She'd finally made it to bed sometime after two, but the short night and early morning were nothing to complain about. What she was learning was really interesting. Her apartment had a fully equipped kitchen, but her cupboards were bare so she made her way to the break room on five. There was a similar room on three for the call center employees, but it wasn't stocked like this one. This room wasn't off limits to any employee, but it was mainly used by the originals, the men who'd been with Ranger from the beginning, or at least early on. There was a crowd this morning. Lester, Tank, Bobby, Vince and Hal were all present and talking. The conversation was loud and punctuated with laughter.

"He's all right," she heard Hal say.

"He'll do," Lester said just a little less enthusiastically.

"Who'll do?" she asked. The group swung around to see her and quieted. Uh oh. She'd been afraid of this. In times past she'd been part of the group and her question would have brought forth a simple explanation and she would have joined the conversation. Now their attention was on her and she saw more than one speculative glance. The news of her new digs on the sixth floor had made the rounds. She wanted her life at RangeMan to go on as usual, but they all knew. They knew she and Joe were divorced and they knew she was living at RangeMan, and there was an awkwardness she'd hoped to avoid.

After a moment's silence Lester pulled his feet off the table and brought his chair back down to all four legs. "Well, well," he said. "I don't think I've seen you in here this early in…ever."

"Stuff it, Lester." She breathed a sigh of relief. It would be okay.

"We heard you were going to do some skip tracing," Bobby said. "Is that true?"

"Yup," she said. "Who'd you hear it from?"

"Rock," Vince said.

"Rock? Who is Rock?"

"Madrid is Rock," Hal told her. "R.C. was a hard name to get used to. Just letters and they don't stand for anything." Stephanie knew better, but she said nothing. "He went with a couple of us guys to get Bixby Lewis out of a bar over on Stark Street last night. And now he's got a nickname, Rock."

"We found Lewis," Lester said, "but he ran. We went tearing out of the bar after him and no one wanted to draw their weapon because the street was crowded. Madrid bent and picked up a rock, it was really a chunk of concrete that had broken off the curb, and he nailed him. Ole Bixby went down in a crumpled heap and Madrid's got a new name. He's Rock."

"It was pretty amazing," Tank said. "Rock's got an arm on him. He used to pitch in the minor leagues. Maybe the Trenton Thunder." Nope, Stephanie thought, the Toledo Mud Hens.

"Is that so?" she said. "Well, I'm going to ride with_ Rock _a couple of times. He's looking for a guy from the Burg and Ranger asked me to ride with him, to show him the ins and outs." She pushed past the group of men and made her way to the refrigerator. Silence fell as she bent over and stuck her head in deep. She rummaged through wrapped sandwiches and fruit until she found what she was looking for, tucked under a turkey sandwich far in the back corner. She pulled out a cellophane-wrapped butterscotch krimpet she'd hidden there two days before. As she turned and stood she noticed the silence in the room and the way no one would meet her eyes. Again, there was the smallest bit of awkwardness, as if they were all trying to define her new status in the group. There had to be a way to show them she was still the same person.

"What?" she asked and then she caught the teasing gleam in Lester's eyes. _Thank you, Lester_, she said silently. She went over and poked her finger into Lester's well-muscled chest. "My ass isn't that big."

"No," he said. "No, it's not, but there is open time in the gym."

"You can kiss my 'not that big ass', Lester."

"With pleasure, beautiful." She saw the relaxation in the group and knew it would be business as usual with them. It occurred to her maybe they didn't want things to change either. Maybe she should have come forward about her divorce from the beginning. Maybe she had underestimated these men.

She headed toward the door of the break room intending to go to her office, but had a sudden thought. She swung around and posed a question to the group in general. "Who is Bixby and why did it take so many of you to get him?"

"Bixby is a cantankerous old drunk," Tank said. "He likes Lester and he'll usually come in for him with no problem, but last night…"

"It was a hazing!" Stephanie said. She understood completely what had gone on the night before. The guys were testing him. "How'd he do?"

"Good," Hal said. "Rock did good."

The morning passed quickly. Stephanie's door was open, but her level of concentration had completely distanced her from the comings and goings in the hallway beyond. When her phone rang she looked up, startled, not realizing for a moment where she was. The ringtone announced Lula.

"Hey, what's up?" Stephanie asked.

"Come down here and eat lunch with us today. Connie is bringing chicken from Cluck In A Bucket. It's a welcoming present for Julie."

Stephanie glanced at her watch and saw it was lunch time. The mention of Cluck In A Bucket made her stomach growl. "Okay, I'll be right down. How's Julie doing?"

"Julie's doing good," Lula said. It reminded Stephanie of Hal's opinion of Rock. She was already thinking of him as Rock. She knew the initials were not just letters but stood for names, and she couldn't think of him as Ricardo, or Carlos. To top it off he looked like Ranger. She'd wondered if it was coincidence or something else, but after a thorough search, she knew it was just coincidence.

"I'm on my way," Stephanie told Lula. She was waiting on one file from Silvio and her work would be done. She could turn the report into Ranger later today and then tomorrow they could begin the search for Naldo Montara.

Once again Stephanie took the stairs. Going down wasn't so bad, but since she was eating Cluck In A Bucket, she'd be taking them back up as well.

Julie was filing when Stephanie walked into the office. Lula was sitting on the couch flipping through the pages of Elle Décor. "I see the training is going well," Stephanie said.

"Damn Skippy," Lula said. "I told Julie I started out as a file clerk and look at me now." Stephanie took a moment to do just that. Lula was wearing a grey skirt that came almost all the way to her knees. It was her attempt at the new kind of professional dress, but remnants of her old profession were showing through. Her feet were shod in impossibly high-heeled bright orange Via Spigas. Her tank top was a rainbow of sequined stripes, none of which was grey. And in her ears were chandelier earrings that were so long they dusted her shoulders. Her hair was red and worn in a head-hugging bob. It should have looked hideous, but she pulled it off. Julie paled in comparison in navy slacks and a white blouse.

"How's it going?" Stephanie asked her.

"Fine," she said. "Tomorrow I am going to enroll part-time at Rutgers. I'll start taking classes in the fall."

"That sounds like a plan," Stephanie said.

"It's a good plan," Julie said smiling, "and Dad is going to give me a tour of the campus." Stephanie smiled and wondered if Ranger had learned his lesson about delegating tours.


	9. Chapter 9

**I use them for fun and not for profit.**

**Chapter 9**

The bucket of chicken was almost empty when Rock Madrid walked into the office. "Hi ya, Rock." Stephanie said.

"You heard."

"I did. I heard you acquitted yourself well, that you've got quite an arm."

"I got lucky," Rock said. "I think I was being tested."

"You were and you passed."

"I figured that out when Tank told me he was giving me the papers on a high bond FTA." Connie looked up from where she and Lula were finishing their last pieces of chicken.

"Tank came in here this morning and told me to give you Tinley Hicks. I've got the paperwork all ready for you."

"Thanks," he told Connie, offering her a wide smile. She fanned herself. He looked back at Stephanie. "Are you going to ride with me to check out some of his hangouts?"

"Yes," Stephanie said, "but I can't get away today. I've got one important thing hanging and then I'm clear, but that won't be until tomorrow."

"Huhn," Lula said. "You gonna be his wheelman, just like I used to be yours?"

"Yes," Stephanie said. "I think I am. If Tinley Hicks is hiding in the Burg, we'll find him."

"Meet me at my office tomorrow morning about nine," she told Rock. "I'll call my mom and my grandma and that might give us a place to start."

"Will do," he said and walked out of the office.

"Holy Moly!" Connie said. She tugged on Julie's long hair. "That guy looks enough like your daddy he could be your uncle."

"He's younger than my father," Julie commented. "There is a resemblance, though."

"He looks like Ranger," Lula said, "but he ain't wound like Ranger. Rock is looser. Maybe a little easier going, and I have to say I wouldn't mind going around with him. He's fine. Did you see the muscles in those arms?" Now it was Lula's turn to fan herself.

Julie was smiling broadly at Lula's reaction. "He is nice looking," Julie agreed. Stephanie didn't add anything to the conversation. She was busy thinking. If the file from Silvio showed up soon she could get the report to Ranger and maybe do a little Burg reconnaissance on her own.

Stephanie left the bonds office and took the elevator back to five. She headed straight for her office and rebooted her computer. The new icon was centered on her desktop and she double clicked, entered her password and did a fist pump. Silvio had come through for her.

An hour later, Stephanie pulled the flash drive containing her report from the port and closed her fingers around it. She picked up her phone to call Ranger and it rang before she could place her call. It was her grandma and she had news. She disconnected from her grandma and called Ranger.

"Yo."

"I've completed my search. You're going to want to see it, probably before tonight. My grandma called and I might have a lead on Tinley Hicks. Rock and I are going to start looking for him tomorrow.

"Rock?"

"That's R.C.'s new nickname. The guys gave it to him last night."

"I heard. I didn't know you had. I'll be back in the building within the hour. I'll come by."

Stephanie looked at her watch and frowned. "That won't work for me," she said. "I need to run by St. Michael's because I told Grandma I would. Can I leave the flash drive somewhere?"

"Yes, my apartment. I should have time to review it. Any big surprises?"

"Maybe one. It will be interesting reading." The sound of silence told her he'd disconnected. She grabbed her purse and thought about taking the stairs. Instead she pushed the up button on the elevator control panel; she'd only had one piece of chicken. When she walked into Ranger's apartment a minute later, she felt a little skittering of unease. It was the first time she'd been alone in the apartment in many years. She had to walk through the living room and into his bedroom to access the office space that was part of the bedroom suite. No use feeling weird about it. She had his permission to be here.

She walked directly into his bedroom and came to an abrupt stop. It was different. The other rooms in the apartment looked very much the same. But the bedroom had changed. It still bore the stamp of a professional designer and it still looked unlived in. No personal memorabilia. No pictures or magazines. No stack of paperbacks on a bedside table. The room was painted a midnight blue with a large bed occupying the center space. It was a four poster bed with dark tapestry-like curtains gathered at each corner. It was tailored and masculine and sexy, and she could imagine Ranger in that bed.

She could imagine herself in that bed, with Ranger. They'd pull the curtains closed and block out the rest of the world and what they did behind the curtains would be private, for them only to know. A sound from the other room had her spinning around, a guilty stain creeping up her neck. She breathed a sigh of relief when she realized it was only an appliance noise from the kitchen.

Enough, she told herself. Put the drive down and get out of here. She walked into the office and set the drive on the keyboard and turning she walked toward the door. She couldn't explain why, when she had every intention of leaving, she was standing in the doorway to his bathroom. It was faint, but it was there, the scent of Bulgari. The shower was the same and she felt reassured by that, somehow. She turned and fled the apartment, still feeling a little like an interloper. And then she laughed at herself.

She remembered the first time she'd been in Ranger's apartment. She had been the epitome of an interloper. Uninvited, but much later she found out, not entirely unwanted. The problem was they'd wanted different things.

She was divorced from Joe and unattached now, and she needed to get back in the swing of things. Lula had been warning her for months that her lady parts would shrivel if they weren't properly used. Getting back out there wouldn't be easy. She was in her forties, and way past the bar scene. She wouldn't allow her mother's matchmaking efforts to blossom again, and she would hold firm on her personal rule not to date co-workers. The men were her friends and it was best it stayed that way.

She took the stairs down, running all the way into the garage. Her Miata was parked against the wall opposite the stairwell door, and she knew it wasn't her imagination. It sparkled way more than it had earlier in the day. She looked into the small office and saw Hal stocking a shelf with automotive supplies.

"Hey!" she called. He turned around and acknowledged her with a hand raised to his black RangeMan cap. Not quite a tip of the hat, but close. "Thanks for detailing my car."

Hal smiled at her. "Anytime. We heard you're gonna do some bounty hunting. I wanted your car to look good when it blows up." She stuck her tongue out at him and laughed as she slid into the car and buckled herself in. No, she didn't want to do anything that would jeopardize her status with these men. She loved them, and she wouldn't single one out for her reemergence into the world of the sexually active, although she was sure they were all up to the job of reinitiating her.

She had to find someone, though. It was all she thought about on her way to the rehab facility. Since Joe had told her about Maria, Stephanie found her thoughts turning more and more often toward Ranger, and that was not going to happen. She'd fallen off the horse once and hadn't gotten back on. She thought if she tried now, the horse would trample her. Nope, Ranger and his non-relationship were off limits.

She walked down the hall of St. Michael's and was surprised to see her grandma walking toward her, using only a cane. "Hey, you're looking good!" Stephanie said.

"Darn tootin' I am," Edna Mazur replied. "This is my second lap around these halls. Tomorrow I get dismissed. Your mom is going to pick me up in Big Blue because it's got the most leg room and sometimes my leg don't bend too well."

"Are you sure?" Stephanie asked. "How will you be able to walk upstairs?"

"Stairs are a little slow, but I can do it. You mom is putting a TV in my bedroom and she's gonna bring food up on a tray so I don't have to go up and down so much. I'll be good as new in a month."

"That's great," Stephanie said. She knew her father would be thrilled about her grandma's semi-confinement to her room, but she hoped the extra trips up and down the stairs wouldn't be too much for her mother. They were all getting older.

"Come back to my room and we can talk," Grandma told her. She followed her grandmother down the hall and was truly pleased to see how easily she moved with just the cane in her hand. Grandma was full of Burg information, quite a bit of it about her and Joe. Then she got to the information Stephanie had been waiting for. "I heard Tommy Hicks has someone staying with him. Melba Fridley's daughter lives in his building and she says Tommy is always fighting with his guest. It's a man, but Melba's daughter don't know who it is. I'm thinking it might be Tinley."

"That's good information, Grandma," Stephanie said. "We'll check it out."

"Who's 'we'?" Grandma asked. "You and Ranger?"

"No. RangeMan has a new employee, Rock. Rock Madrid."

"Rock Madrid. He sounds hot, like a wrestler." It was reassuring after her recent injury to see Grandma returning to her normal interests.

"He's no wrestler," Stephanie said. "He looks a little like Ranger, come to think of it. He's really very handsome. He's the one with the paperwork to capture Tinley. He doesn't know about Tommy, but I tell him later, tomorrow."

"If he looks like Ranger, I imagine he's got a good package then?"

Stephanie laughed out loud at the sly look she was getting from her grandma. "I don't know, Grandma, but I'll try to check him out." That seemed to satisfy her grandma for the time being and they went on to talk more about life in the Burg. Stephanie had to call an end to the conversation before she wanted to.

"I have to leave, Grandma. I need to get back to RangeMan. I still haven't unpacked."

Stephanie once again took the stairs to her apartment on six. She met Ella in the hallway who gave her a funny little half-smile before walking past her. What was up with that? She unlocked her door, walked into the small living room, and drew up short. Ranger was sitting in her only arm chair. His elbows rested casually on the arms and his fingers were steepled together. His legs were thrust out in a relaxed fashion. It was a position she was familiar with, as she'd seen it before. The obvious casualness of the pose could be, and had been in times past, misleading. She looked closely at him and decided he hadn't adopted the pose as a means of hiding his anger, he was just relaxed. And now she understood Ella's look.

"Did Ella see you come in here?" she asked him.

"Yes, she was just coming out of her apartment as I entered. Why?"

"Why? Because you can't just pop in here. You are compromising my reputation."

Ranger smiled. It was a rare thing to see. His eyes crinkled and he let his head loll back, exposing the long brown column of throat. "Babe, Ella is the soul of discretion."

"Ella is a matchmaker, Ranger. She believes in happily-ever-after, and I think Julie is hoping for something between us as well. If she sees you come in to this apartment, we'll both regret it. What are you doing here anyway?"

"I came to wait for you. Your cell phone must not be on, because every time I called it went straight to voice mail." She pulled her phone from the inside pocket of her purse and looked at the dark display.

"Crap." She looked at the stack of boxes she'd pushed against the wall and tried to remember which one contained her charger.

"Better get a handle on this, Babe. You should have Ella help you. Give me your phone. It'll be in your office, charged, in an hour." She handed him the phone.

"What are you doing here?" she asked again, but she thought she knew. "Did you read the report?"

"I did." He motioned for her to sit and she perched on the edge of the sofa and waited for his reaction to what she'd given him. He remained laid back in her chair. "Stephanie, you don't have to help with this op. You do know the Burg and its residents, but I can give this to one of the men."

"Do you think I'm not capable of being in the field? Is that why you're asking?"

"It has nothing to do with capabilities, and everything to do with the fact that this isn't at all what we were led to believe. Madrid told me he was DEA and that was true. He said the primary focus was to use Tinley Hicks to get Naldo Montara. Nothing he said was a lie, but he left out quite a bit. What you have given me is thorough, but the possibility exists there is even more we don't know. Do you want to put yourself on the line when you don't know exactly what you are getting into?"

"Ranger, listen to what you just asked me. When I was working for Vinnie, I never knew what I was getting into, but I usually figured it out pretty fast. With your permission I'll tell Rock that we've investigated his story. I'll get the truth out of him."

"Working with him might not be without consequences. You should reconsider before you make a final decision."

"No."

"No?"

"No. Rock is…"

"Stop calling him that. His name is R.C.," Ranger said, aggravation graveling his voice.

"His name is Ricardo Carlos Madrid," Stephanie said. "I'm going to ask him about that."

"It's not against the law to go by your initials," Ranger said.

"It's odd, though," she said. "He shares your name and he looks like you."

"We resemble. That's not odd. We are both of Cuban ancestry. Our coloring is the same and both of us have features that are benign. My name is not uncommon."

"He's Jewish, but his half-brother Naldo Montara is not."

"Also not uncommon, Stephanie. There are Jews in Cuba. It was a place of refuge for them when they were driven out of European countries. Many Jews came to Cuba from Spain and many of them adopted the name of the area they left. His ancestors probably came from Madrid."

"Why are you sticking up for him?" Stephanie asked. "He lied to us, well to you. And how come his brother's name isn't Madrid?"

"I'm not sticking up for him. I am merely pointing out that it is unlikely we are related, that he has the right to use initials instead of a name. I'm not happy that he didn't tell us the entire story. Maybe he and his half-brother share the same mother, but different fathers. What did you find on that?"

"Nothing. I found plenty of information on Naldo, but it was mostly linked to his practice of Santeria. I looked for images, but there were none."

"Madrid does want Montara, but he implied that Montara's connection to Hicks was one of purchasing drugs," Ranger said. "The truth, as you've discovered, is Montara is up to his neck in the importation and sales, and Tinley Hicks works for him. This would be a big collar for the DEA, which is probably why they are willing to overlook the possible use of human sacrifices in Montara's rituals. Getting him off the street is the primary objective."

"I'm going to ask him about that as well," Stephanie said. "When we find Tinley Hicks, Rock won't apprehend him. He is going to use him to lead us to Montara. If you want to put someone more experienced in my place you can, but I really want to do this."

"You _will_ have your weapon, it will be loaded, and you _will_ carry a tracker on your person and in your purse." It wasn't negotiable.

"Yes, I will."

"Then work with Madrid. We promised him a cover and I intend to keep the promise. I don't want the DEA down on RangeMan for lack of cooperation, no matter how underhanded they were when they approached us." There was silence in the room for a full minute. Ranger made no effort to move.

"Uhm," Stephanie said. "I don't mean to appear inhospitable, but I'm a little tired. I worked most of the night last night and I still have quite a bit of unpacking to do."

He stood suddenly and walked toward her. "Why will we regret it?" he asked. Stephanie shot him a puzzled look. "You said we would regret it if Julie or Ella saw us together. Why?"

"Because," Stephanie said. "You've made your life choice clear. You said you could never offer me a relationship and a ring. I understand that. I accept that. I never wanted the damned ring in any case, but others still hope for something between you and me. And it won't happen."

He turned and walked the short distance to the door. Her phone was in his hand and she watched him shove it in his pocket. It was only a second, no longer, but he didn't move and she waited for his hand to close around the door. He turned abruptly and took the steps back to her. She really didn't know it was coming.

His arms came around her and she looked up to protest. It was a fatal mistake and any resistance she could find died. His lips crushed hers and she responded. His tongue was in her mouth and dueling with hers. She didn't know if he was pulling her closer or if she was straining to get closer. He turned her and walked her back against the door. He lifted her off the floor and held her in place with his lower body. His erection nested at the juncture of her thighs, and still his mouth didn't leave hers. When they broke for breath she heard a moan filled with want and realized it came from her. He heard it too and pulled back a little. He held her immobile while his breathing slowed and came under control and then he backed away, little by little, until she slid to the point she could stand. She moved from the door and put distance between them and he watched her every move.

She was ready to scream, or cry. He didn't move, but just stared. Finally, he ran a hand through his hair and Stephanie was startled to see it tremble.

"I don't want to do anything we'd regret," he said. He opened the door and walked through, closing it softly behind him. Stephanie was left standing alone.


	10. Chapter 10

**I use them for fun and not for profit.**

**Chapter 10**

Stephanie ignored the boxes and the baskets of clean laundry. The apartment was small and no matter how she paced, she couldn't get Ranger off her mind. The decision to go down to her office was one based more on getting away from the scene of the crime rather than a true desire to work. When she walked into her office and saw the message light blinking on her phone she felt relief. There was something to take her mind off of what had just happened. And what exactly had happened? Ranger kissed her and she'd acted like some sex-starved idiot, but he hadn't handled it with quite his usual coolness either.

She plopped down behind her desk and pushed the message button on her phone. Relief was the primary emotion she felt when she heard Joe's voice. He wanted to see her and she wasn't answering her cell. Crap! Ranger had her cell phone. She called Joe and found he was home and wanted her to come over and pick up a couple of things she'd left behind during the move.

Joe hadn't been specific about what she'd left. There were probably more than a couple of things and she wondered which ones in particular he was anxious for her to get.

She still had a set of keys and he'd insisted she keep them when she'd tried to give them back. Maria was an understanding woman, but Stephanie knew if the situation was reversed she wouldn't like it if the keys to her new house still lived on the ex-wife's key ring. When she unlocked the door, she waited instinctively for the sound of Bob running to greet her. Even though it had been a year, she still missed the big goofy dog.

"Anybody home?" she called from the foyer.

"I'm upstairs, come on up." Joe's voice was muffled as though he had his head in a closet and she walked the stairs and turned into his room. He was standing by the dresser with a small rosewood box in his hands. He smiled and handed it to her.

"Oh," Stephanie said. She had completely forgotten the little box. It had been a gift from her Grandma Mazur and she'd once used it as a small jewelry box. More recently she'd just used it as a decorative piece, but she was glad Joe had called. She would have remembered, eventually. For some reason, when she took up residence in the guest room at the time of their divorce, the box hadn't made the trip to her new room. Joe held it out to her.

"Thanks, Joe," she said. "You said there were a couple of things. What else?"

"Open the box, Cupcake." She did and her breath caught. Nestled inside the folds of the red velvet lining were earrings. They were large, round and diamond and she thought from the sheen of the metal, they were set in platinum. "These are beautiful, but…"

"No buts," Joe said. "They're yours." She looked at him, puzzled. She hadn't even thought of telling him she couldn't keep them, she was still trying to figure out why he'd had them in the first place.

"Before you ask," he told her. "Maria already knows I have these and that I'm giving them to you. You've been in and out of my life for a long time, and ever since I let you bring me in as your first FTA," he paused at her uplifted eyebrows, "okay, ever since you brought me in as your first FTA, you've mostly been in my life. Things are changing for us." He walked to her and put his hands on her shoulders. "I don't want you to disappear from my life. It's time you moved out for yourself, as well as for me, but…" he paused and she knew what he was going to say, "I still love you, Cupcake."

Her voice was wobbly with emotion. "I love you too, Joe. Just not enough."

"Don't say that, Steph. Don't quantify our feelings for one another. Let's just say we are important to one another, but we aren't cut out to be lovers."

"Or husband and wife," she said as she grinned up at him. She snapped the box lid closed and wrapped her arms around him. "Thanks for these. I'll cherish them. Be happy, Joe." She made her way down the stairs, the box tightly clutched in one hand and the other hand wrapped around the stair rail. Her vision was clouded by tears, but she felt lighter. They had closure to their relationship almost two years earlier, but it was finally feeing real to her now. It was a good feeling. It was time to move on.

She sat in her car for a moment replacing the small studs she was wearing with her new earrings. She turned her head from side to side and watched the sparkle in her rearview mirror. They were flashy and they suited her. She hadn't been flashy for a long time, but things were changing. She went back to her apartment and spent a quiet evening, thinking and not unpacking.

R.C. Madrid walked through the door to Stephanie's office at exactly 9:00 a.m. the next morning. He slid her cell phone onto her desk and she looked up from her monitor. "I just bumped into Ranger in the hall. He asked me to give this to you," Rock said.

She stared intently at her phone. She was muttering under her breath; most of what she was saying incomprehensible. With a sharp crack, that couldn't be good for the phone, she set it on her desk and what she said next was clear.

"Thanks a lot, Ranger. Fully freaking charged, of course." Rock cleared his throat and she looked abashed as she realized she was thinking out loud.

She blushed a little, and then a little more, as Rock continued to stare at her. He was struck with how pretty she was. "Have a seat and I'll be ready to go in just a minute," she said. "I'm answering a couple of emails. I'm sorry you have to wait, Rock."

"No problem," he said. He liked the sound of his new name on her lips. Everyone had taken to using it easily and that pleased him. He'd wanted a nickname and he'd gotten his wish. The last two days had been spent getting to know the RangeMan operatives and he could see they were a tightly knit group. This woman was an integral part of the group and that intrigued him.

Lester Santos, after a few beers, had been very informative regarding Stephanie. His intent had been to warn Rock off. Even though she'd been married and divorced, apparently she was still considered Mañoso's property. And that was interesting.

He'd only seen her, previously, in the black uniform he himself was wearing, but today she was wearing a pair of jeans and a red form-fitting t-shirt. As she clicked off her computer and stood he could see the jeans fit well over curves that were attention worthy. He laughed as he saw her feet ensconced in red high-top Chuck Taylors.

"Is that the alternate RangeMan uniform?" he asked.

"It's the Burg uniform," Stephanie said. "People will open up to me better if I'm not dressed like an urban commando." He looked down at his standard RangeMan issue. Black cargos and a black t-shirt. He'd wanted to add a black windbreaker. As a new RangeMan employee he was armed. He was licensed to carry concealed and he was more comfortable with his own weapon than the standard Glock issued to all RangeMan operatives, but they were in the middle of a heat wave and the windbreaker wouldn't fly. The Glock was holstered and according to RangeMan policy it rode comfortably on his hip. He noticed Stephanie wasn't wearing a weapon.

"Does your Burg uniform come with a standard issue weapon?" Rock asked her.

"It does," she said. She held up her large black Coach tote. "All I have to do is knock someone upside the head with this thing and they're down for the count."

"That's good, but I was thinking you might be carrying something a little more lethal."

"Don't underestimate the power of the pocketbook," she said grinning at him, "or this." She pulled her RangeMan issued Glock from her purse.

"You're licensed to carry concealed?"

"Yes. I'm married, or I was married, to a cop. There's no way he'd allow me to carry concealed without the proper paperwork." She took a brief look around the office and walked toward the door. "Let's get going."

Rock was surprised she deferred to him in the garage. "I'll let you drive," she told him. "I'll navigate and by the day's end you'll know your way around."

"Sounds like a plan." They got into a black Ford Escape and Stephanie wasted no time directing him to the Tasty Pastry.

"Are we working yet, or is this breakfast?" Rock asked.

"Yes."

Stephanie drew in a deep breath as she walked in the door and although it was barely audible, she moaned. It was a soft, pleasurable sound that sounded almost sexual in nature and it caused Rock to look closely at her. She had a look of anticipation on her face. Her eyes were heavy-lidded and her lips were parted. Her tongue ran over her bottom lip. He'd seen women look that way before, but never in a bakery. He felt something stir. There was something about this woman that was very appealing.

A plump woman wearing a pink uniform with the name 'Betty' embroidered above her breast pocket came through the door from the back room. She halted so quickly she overbalanced and had to take a small step forward to keep from falling. Her eyes slid from Stephanie to the man standing behind her and then back to Stephanie. "Stephanie, I just heard." Betty's accent was a mix of New Jersey and Italian, and rang with sincere sympathy. "Joe Morelli, _the mascalzone! _How could he do this to you? His mother must be so ashamed!"

"It's okay, Betty. We did it to each other. It was mutual." Stephanie's words rendered Betty momentarily speechless, so Stephanie continued, "I'll take a couple of Boston Crèmes," she said and turned to Rock. "It's my treat. What would you like?"

"Boston Crèmes are my favorite, too," Rock said, "so you can double that order." She tilted her head considering his choice. Rock smiled at Betty who was staring at him a little bemused.

"This is Rock," Stephanie said. "He's new at RangeMan."

"Oh, I see," Betty said. Rock wasn't sure what she saw and then it dawned on him. Betty had mistaken him for Ranger. He knew his resemblance to Ricardo Carlos Mañoso was strong and he'd been asked by some of the men if they were brothers. Thinking of his own brother, he marveled at the irony. It was true, Ricardo Carlos Madrid resembled Ranger as much as he resembled his own brother.

They got their donuts in two sacks, but Stephanie was in no hurry to leave. "How've you been, Betty?"

"Oh, I can't complain too much. Things are pretty good. How about you, uhm, I mean…" Betty blushed as though she had made a horrible faux pas.

"Things are great for me, Betty. I'm doing some bounty hunting again."

"Vinnie's back in business?"

"No. RangeMan owns the bonds business now, but Connie is running the show, so I guess I'm working for Connie."

"Connie Rosolli? I knew she was working for RangeMan and that's kind of funny considering her family connections."

"Her family has occasionally used her services," Stephanie said smiling. "Rock is my partner now." She pulled Rock forward to stand next to her and Betty's eyes took him in.

"We're looking for Tinley Hicks," Stephanie told Betty. "Have you seen him around?"

"No," Betty said thoughtfully. "His mama was in here last Friday, though. She said she was having a special guest for Sunday dinner and she bought cannoli, a dozen of them."

"Does she still live off Clinton, by the park?"

"Yeah, she does."

Rock was silent as they sat eating their donuts in the Escape. He licked a blob of filling off his thumb and felt Stephanie's eyes on him. "What?" he asked.

"I'm just not used to seeing someone in RangeMan uniform eat donuts," she said. "Ranger is very anti-sweets and so are most of his men."

"Did I blow my cover?" he asked. "The DEA doesn't have dietary guidelines."

Stephanie laughed. "No, you didn't blow your cover. I'm glad to have found a fellow Boston Crème aficionado."

Rock turned the key in the ignition. "Lead me to 'off Clinton, by the park'."

"I will, but do you really want to find Tinley?" she asked him. "It seems to me if you make contact with him, he won't lead you to Montara."

"That's probably true, but I want to find him. I don't plan on making contact. If we find him we'll plant trackers on his car. We'll surveil him and eventually, he will lead us to Montara."

"So this Montara," Stephanie said. "He must be a pretty bad guy."

"Bad," he agreed. He followed her directions and they found the home of Mrs. Hicks with no problem. Rock pulled the Escape up against the curb across the street and three houses down from the small bungalow.

"What next?" he asked her.

"What next?" she asked him. "I thought my job was to facilitate. You're the general. I'm just the private."

They were bantering and he was enjoying himself. "If you were the general what would be your next move, Stephanie."

"Let's go knock on the door and see what happens," Stephanie said. "Maybe we'll get lucky and she'll tell us where he is, or maybe he'll answer the door."

"I'm right behind you, General."

The house was a small, white clapboard one-story, with a narrow yard. The grass was brown from lack of water and the flowers in the pots on either side of the porch railing were wilting with the need for a quick hit from the sprinkler can. Warped boards on the porch had them both looking at their feet as they traversed the short distance to the door.

"I can't give this place the good housekeeping seal of approval," Rock said as they looked at the Beware of Dog sign taped to the wall next to a doorbell with wires hanging out.

"Yeah," Stephanie said. "This place could use a little TLC. Tinley's mama put up his bond. I wonder how she'd feel if she lost this place. I know you want him to lead you to, well, a bigger prize, but we need to bring Tinley in eventually." She knocked on the door.

There was the yap of a small dog and the sound of someone moving inside so they waited patiently. In a minute the door opened and a tall, thin woman with a pinched face opened the door. Her expression was sour, her mouth turning down at both ends.

"I don't buy from door-to-door sales people." Her statement was delivered in a deep two-pack-a-day voice.

"We're not selling anything, Mrs. Hicks. I'm Stephanie Plum and this is my partner, Mr. Madrid. We're looking for your son, Tinley." The woman's head pulled back through the door and it started to swing shut. Stephanie instinctively attempted to stick her foot in the door, but her Chuck Taylor high-top bumped into Rock's black boot as it effectively held the door from closing. He moved in closer to her as his foot jammed the door open.

He looked at her apologetically. "Sorry, but steel-toed is a better option than canvas high-tops." She gave him a quick grin and focused back on a perturbed Mrs. Hicks.

"Mrs. Hicks, I work for the bond enforcement division of RangeMan and Tinley needs to come forward to reset his court date, otherwise you will lose this house."

"You can't take my house," she snarled.

"RangeMan Bail Bonds can and will take your house," Rock said matter-of-factly. "Your son's name is on the title and he used it as collateral for his bond."

"We just need to talk to him," Stephanie said. "If we reschedule his court date the bond won't expire and you won't be in any danger of losing your home." It wasn't quite true, but it sounded good.

"Did you say Plum?" Mrs. Hicks asked.

"I did." The surprise was evident in Stephanie's voice. She hadn't identified herself as Stephanie Morelli.

"Are you the bounty hunter that burned down Stiva's?" Mrs. Hicks asked.

"That was ten years ago," Stephanie exclaimed. "And it wasn't my fault."

"My mother was in slumber room two," the woman said. "We barely got Mama out and we lost all the flowers."

"It really wasn't my fault," Stephanie repeated and she realized it had been a long time since she'd uttered those words.

"Tinley isn't here. I haven't seen him."

"Did you have company for dinner on Sunday?" Stephanie asked.

"That's none of your business. And don't go bothering the rest of the family; they haven't seen him either." This time she closed the door with force and neither the steel-toed boot nor the canvas high-top was in place to prevent it.

"That was successful," Stephanie said as they walked back toward the Escape.

"You think so?"

"Sure. She wouldn't have warned us to stay away from the family if he wasn't hiding out with them. The problem is figuring out which aunt, uncle, or cousin he's staying with. We'll start with Tommy, because Grandma said he had a guest staying with him."

"So, your grandma is your source of information?" Rock asked Stephanie.

"Yes, in this instance, and if she says he's staying at his cousin Tommy's it's a good bet."

"Do you know where Tinley lives?" Rock asked.

"I do, but according to my sources he hasn't been at home at all."

"None of Grandma's friends have seen him there?" Rock questioned with a grin.

Stephanie smiled at his perceptiveness. "I know where he works as well. I have a friend who might be able to give us a little information on Tinley, about his drug use specifically. I think we should visit him next."

"Lead on, mon capitaine," Rock said.

"I thought I was a general."

"I thought you were the private," Rock said laughing. He gave her a salute and slipped in behind the wheel.

Walter 'Moonman' Dunphy was one of Stephanie's oldest friends and one of her strangest. His brain had been almost completely obliterated by substance abuse, but a couple of years earlier a court-mandated stint in rehab had changed his life. The Mooner Stephanie had known years ago was tall and thin and a real life walking-talking version of Shaggy from Scooby-Doo. Mooner of the current day was the rotund owner of Scoops, an all-natural, homemade ice cream shop that was functioning in the black. Mooner had given up using. He'd switched one addiction for another and his current addiction was much kinder to his brain. He was one of the few people to own and grow a business in the Burg during the recent rough economic times. Even though he'd cleaned up his act, if anyone would have the goods on Tinley it would be Mooner.

"Dude!" he said when Stephanie walked into his shop. Rock was behind her, watching and enjoying seeing Stephanie on her own turf. When they left Scoops, they had real life affirmation of the information Stephanie had gathered online. Tinley Hicks was definitely into the dealing scene in Trenton. His day job was at a tobacco shop two doors down from the old bonds office.

They stood for a moment licking the free cones Mooner had insisted on them having. "I feel a little off," Stephanie said.

"Maybe that's because we're eating ice cream before our Boston Crèmes have had a chance to digest," Rock said.

"Are you kidding? We had those donuts over an hour ago. And that's not it, anyway." She swung around to look behind her, but saw nothing. "It's just a feeling," she said shrugging her shoulders.

Rock seemed unaware of any strange feeling. "Working with you could be hazardous to my health. Donuts and ice cream, before lunch."

"Don't be silly. Donuts were breakfast. Ice cream is lunch." She knew he had an agenda he thought was secret, but she didn't hold it against him. He was nice and she thought he'd make a good friend.


	11. Chapter 11

**I use them for fun and not for profit.**

**Chapter 11**

They visited the tobacco shop next. Rock stayed in the car and let Stephanie go in for the face-to-face meeting. She was going to use the ruse of buying cigars for her father, but she didn't have to. Tinley was not at work that day and once she made that discovery she returned to the car.

"The guy inside said Tinley wasn't working," Stephanie told Rock. "I was careful about what I said, though, because I had the feeling someone was in the back room. Let's split up. I'll cover the alley and you cover the front. We'll watch for a while and see if anyone leaves." The alley that ran behind the tobacco shop intersected with the alley that ran alongside the former bonds office. Stephanie stood at the juncture of the two and kept her gaze mostly focused on the back door to the shop. As time passed she began to look more and more frequently down the other alley.

Her mind was filled with images flashing through like a PowerPoint slide presentation. Ranger, pushing her against the bricks of the wall and leaning into her. Ranger, tweaking her curls and taking his cap off to pull it down over her head. Ranger, telling her to be careful before he walked away without looking back at her. It was all part of another life and she supposed that aching at the back of her throat, the watering of her eyes was just nostalgia for what had almost been, but never would be.

Her phone rang and she looked at the caller ID to see it was Rock. "What do you say we knock off and re-group to stakeout Tommy's apartment this evening?" he asked.

"It sounds like a plan," she said. Stephanie needed a nap, and a hug. She thought she could get the nap.

It was well after dark when they settled down to wait in the RangeMan SUV. Stephanie's excitement for the stakeout diminished quickly. It had been many years since she'd sat in a vehicle, eyes focused on a lighted doorway, waiting for a skip to make an appearance. The memory of a numb butt, full bladder and an aching need for Tastykakes came back in a rush.

Across the front seat, Rock sat quietly showing endless patience. Stephanie was showing her patience was at an end. She turned to the back and tried to peer through the tinted window. It was impossible to see anything in the dark, but she wondered if there was a RangeMan vehicle behind the one they were in. She'd had the feeling all day, the feeling she used to call spidey sense, and for most of the day she'd pushed it to the back of her mind. After Ranger's kiss and abrupt departure the night before she wondered if he was following them. In all likelihood he had assigned one of his trusted core group to do the job. She was better at spotting tails than she used to be, but she'd seen no evidence. Still, the feeling was persistent and she'd learned the hard way not to ignore it.

In the dark, the resemblance between Rock and Ranger was more pronounced. The shadowy light muted the differences in their facial features and it was easy to imagine she was sitting across from Ranger. When Stephanie realized that's what she was doing she made an effort to clear Ranger from her mind.

"What are we going to do if Tinley Hicks walks through the door?" Stephanie asked. "We have an obligation to bring him in, because he's in forfeiture of his bond. But if we bring him in he won't lead you to the man you're really after."

"I'm not really a RangeMan employee," Rock said. "I will turn him over to the bonds office for re-bonding eventually, but I will let him lead me to Montara first. I have to complete my mission and my mission is to get Montara."

There was silence in the car for a while, and then Rock turned toward Stephanie. "We've had good conversation today, Stephanie. I feel like we're friends. So is there anything else you'd like to ask me, maybe some information that was unclear in your search?"

"You think I did a search on you?" Stephanie asked.

"Part of the reason I picked RangeMan as the organization to go undercover inside is because of the reputation RangeMan has for its thoroughness and efficiency. I can't believe Ranger would allow someone as important to him as you are to help me, without first conducting an extensive search of me and everyone involved my operation. And you happen to be the head of research, Angel."

"Okay, you're right. I researched the holy heck out of you and I know more about you than your mother does."

Rock threw back his head and laughed. It totally obliterated Stephanie's fantasy that she might be sitting across from Ranger. Rock's voice was a deep baritone, and though he spoke softly it had a throaty quality, which was sexy. "Just how much do you think my mother knows about me?"

"I found out a lot more than you shared with Ranger when you came on board at RangeMan. Would like me to tell you what we know?"

"We? With whom did you share your information?"

"Just Ranger," Stephanie said. "He's the boss."

"Is that all Ranger is to you, Stephanie?" Rock asked. "I've heard that once upon a time you were much more than friends."

"Once upon a time is for fairytales," Stephanie said. "Why don't you get comfortable in your driver's seat, Ricardo Carlos Madrid, and I'll tell you what I discovered."

"Ricardo Carlos is my name, but I've always gone by R. C. I saw no need to change that when I came to RangeMan, especially since by some weird coincidence I share the name of the CEO and I happen to resemble him. I've always wanted a nickname, and I like Rock. I'll keep it even after I leave this op. Okay, Stephanie, tell me your story."

"It's not my story," she said. "But here goes. In the first place your story was bull-shit. Naldo Montara does not buy drugs from Tinley Hicks. Naldo Montara is the big cheese and Tinley Hicks works for him. Naldo is a practioner of Santeria, which is a religion that involves animal sacrifice and while there is no hard proof it is believed he could be involved in human sacrifice. Human sacrifice is in no way ever condoned by actual practioners of Santeria, so that would indicate Naldo is off his rocker. A nut job. How am I doing so far?"

"Not bad," Rock said. "Naldo has been telling people he is an actual orisha, or saint, sent down from heaven. He tells them he has the power to take them straight to heaven with him if they follow his teachings. He uses hallucinogens and manipulates people into helping him procure and distribute drugs. The drug sales pay for his religious rituals and what's left over goes to off-shore accounts in the Caymans."

"There seems to be no clear cut answer, but some information suggests he really is a religious fanatic," Stephanie said.

"While other sources claim it's all just a scam to make him a very rich man," Rock said. "And along the way he gets to fulfill his obscene appetites for ritualistic sex and violence."

"Which theory do you ascribe to?" Stephanie asked.

"The latter. He is an evil man, no question."

"And you know this because he is your brother?" Stephanie expected her comment to be a bombshell dropped in the confines of the intimate space of the vehicle.

Rock didn't show any surprise at her statement. "My half-brother," he said. "He was a disturbed child who's grown into a truly evil man. He's crazy."

Stephanie shivered violently and Rock looked over with concern. "Are you cold, or is it this talk that's bothering you."

"Neither. Somebody's watching us. I'm sure of it and I don't think it's anybody from RangeMan. We're in a RangeMan vehicle on the RangeMan grid. They wouldn't waste personnel following us when they know, electronically, right where we are." She reached into her purse and pulled out her weapon. It would be good to have it ready.

Rock didn't question her instincts, but readied his weapon as well. There was a sudden burst of activity at the front of the building they were watching and both of them forgot about Stephanie's instinct. A woman ran from the door of the building and stopped halfway to the street. She turned and called to the man coming out behind her. The windows of the Escape were down and they could hear every word.

"Come on, Tin-Tin. That asshole cousin of yours is drunk. He won't even know we're gone." She held out her hand and as the man left the shadows of the building and stood under the streetlight they could see it was Tinley Hicks.

"Good thing we had the picture of him with the paperwork," Stephanie said. "He's changed since high school." She heard Rock's snort of laughter. Tinley Hicks was a large man with an enormous spare tire around his middle. His hair was balding on top, but long and curly on the sides, waving past his shoulders.

"Slow down, baby, I'm coming." Hicks hurried to draw abreast of the woman and Stephanie noted his sloping shoulders and duck-footed waddle.

"Not yet, Tin-Tin, you're not coming yet, but you will. And we'll be back inside before he knows we were even gone." Stephanie shuddered at the verbal foreplay. There was something creepy about these two sneaking off for a rendezvous. Tinley caught up to her and they linked arms with one another, as they walked toward a blue Honda in the parking lot. The woman turned into Hicks' arms and lifted her face for what turned out to be a lengthy kiss. They got in the car, with Tinley driving, and pulled out of the lot.

Rock let the blue car pull out and get a block down the road before he turned the key in the ignition and pulled out to follow them. It was past midnight and traffic was sparse.

"Don't get too far behind," Stephanie warned him. "But don't get too close. We don't want him to make us."

"This ain't my first rodeo, Angel," Rock said. "Who's the woman?"

"I don't know. I'll try to get the plate and we can call it in."

"I've got it," he said. "Call the control room and see if we can get an ID."

"Okay," Stephanie said. "It might help with location if we lose them."

"We're not going to lose them."

She called the control room and spoke with Howdy, a recent hire. She gave him the number Rock recited and disconnected. They continued to follow the car at a safe distance. It became obvious they were heading to an area east of downtown. The car slowed and angled in abruptly, in front of a neighborhood tavern. The woman and Hicks exited the car and entered the bar.

Stephanie's phone rang and she answered quickly. "What have you got, Howdy?" She listened for a moment and said, "Thanks."

"Well, they're driving Tommy's car, so that's a good indication they'll be going back home."

"This seems like a long way to come for a drink," Rock said. "And they didn't sound like it was drinking they were sneaking out to do."

"Maybe there's an apartment in the back or upstairs," Stephanie said.

"Did you get a good look at the woman?" Rock asked.

"Yeah, she was a dead ringer for Olive."

"She was a double for someone you know?" Rock asked the question in such a strained voice Stephanie turned to look at him.

"She was a double, but not for anyone I know personally. She looked like Olive Oyl, Popeye's girlfriend." They were both silent for a moment considering Stephanie's description. The woman had been tall and thin with her hair scraped back into a bun. It was hard to tell for certain, but under the streetlights it had looked bluish-black. She was wearing a long flowing skirt and a white t-shirt, and she really had resembled Olive Oyl. Without warning, Stephanie shivered again. The temperature was high and so was the humidity and it wasn't the weather causing the shiver.

"Are we going to wait for them to leave?" she asked. Her fingers were curled around the grip of her weapon.

Rock looked up and down the deserted street. "No. We know where he's staying. We'll just keep Tommy's place staked out until we can follow him alone. He will lead us to Naldo, I'm sure of it."

Stephanie was quiet on the way back to RangeMan. Her mind was spinning over everything that had happened in the last twenty-four hours, starting with Ranger's kiss. His statement had been puzzling and she still wasn't sure whether he'd acted in anger or passion. It probably didn't matter, because the end result was passion. She didn't need a reminder of what had been between them. It was still there. Ranger was magic, but Ranger was also pain, and she was beginning to wonder if the magic was worth it. She'd move on. She might never get over him, but she'd move on. She needed the transitory relationship.

When they got back to Haywood, Rock turned the car into the parking lot next to the row of townhomes. "I'm staying in a condo in the middle building," he told her, as he carded his way into the secure lot.

"I'm staying temporarily on six," Stephanie told him.

"Can I walk you to your door, Angel?" Rock asked. She nodded, wondering if he had another motive. There wasn't any place safer in Trenton than the RangeMan building. He was chatting as they walked and Stephanie had let her mind wander a little. When she heard the word transition, she started listening more intently.

"I like being a RangeMan employee," he said. "It beats the hell out of the DEA. I wonder if Ranger would hire me permanently. I'm qualified and I would be good in the PI sector of RangeMan. I'm ready for a change and I may give serious consideration to leaving the DEA after I get Montara. This could be a transitional position for me."

Transitional. He'd said transitional. He was the guy! The thought hit her with such force she almost reeled. He looked like Ranger, but unlike Ranger he was emotionally available. His body was perfectly formed and he was young. Ten years younger than her, she'd bet. That would preclude any kind of messy relationship issues. He'd never be interested in anything permanent with someone her age. It would get her over the dry spell of her un-orgasmic life. She wondered if he was too tired tonight. She'd seen him looking at her ass earlier in the day. He shouldn't be too hard to convince.

"Rock, would you like to come in for a beer or have you had enough of me today."

"I'll come in, Angel. I don't think I could have too much of you." He winked and Stephanie laughed. It had been a long time since someone other than Lester flirted with her.

She opened her door and Rock followed her in. Before the beer, before she could lose her courage, she would do to him exactly what Ranger had done to her the night before. She turned to see him push the door shut. When she heard the lock click she leaned into him and wrapped her arms around his neck. She was working hard at not thinking and hoping he wouldn't when she pulled his head down and found his mouth with hers.

It was a good kiss and as it continued the balance of power changed. He slid his tongue between her lips and his arms came up to pull her close to him. She was getting tingly and warm, and she was feeling a little odd. This was the first non-Morelli, non-Ranger kiss, well, serious kiss, she'd shared with a man in a long time.

His hands spanned her waist and then started moving slowly up her ribcage. He broke the kiss and held her away from him slightly as he moved his hands up over her breasts, his thumbs teasing her nipples. Even through the cloth of her t-shirt and bra she could feel them pebble against his hands.

This will work, she thought. It wasn't the mind-numbing passion Ranger induced, but if she worked at it she knew she could have a great orgasm. She moaned and arched against his hands, and he pulled back.

He ran his hands through his hair and gave her a soft smile. "Angel, I'm all for this, but we need to talk first."

"Haven't we talked enough for one day?" she asked.

"We have and that's why I'm going to leave. Come with me tomorrow morning and we'll stake out Tommy Hicks' place again. I have some things I need to explain to you and then I hope we'll continue tomorrow where we are leaving off tonight."

"I can't go early tomorrow," she said. She recovered from the kiss quickly, as the responsibilities of her job came to the forefront of her mind. "What about tomorrow right after lunch? I need to put in some time at my desk."

"Okay, after lunch." He reached out for her again and she went willingly into his arms. With her eyes almost shut, she caught a glimpse of dark hair and mocha latte skin so similar to Ranger's. As his lips came down over hers she thought of Ranger and she hated herself for it.

When he pulled away he smiled such a lovely smile her guilt made tears fill her eyes. "Tomorrow, after lunch," he said. He opened the door and let himself out. Stephanie stood in the doorway and watched him walk to the stairwell door. Her hair was wild about her shoulders and her lips were swollen and she looked exactly like a woman who'd just been kissed.

In his office on five, Ranger watched the feed from the security camera on six. As R.C. Madrid walked out of camera range, Ranger tightened his grip on the pen in his hand until he heard the snap. He looked down to see a large smear of black ink on his hand. He dropped the pen on his desk and hit the power button on his computer. Walking quickly to the stairwell door he opened it to see Madrid rounding the corner getting ready to descend the next flight.

"Madrid," he called.

Rock stopped and turned, looking up the stairs at Ranger.

"Any luck today?" Ranger asked.

Rock smiled. "Depends on how you define luck," he told Ranger. "We found Tinley, but he didn't lead us to Montara. We're gonna give it another try tomorrow. All in all, it wasn't the best day, but yeah, I had some lucky moments."

Ranger stood motionless and Rock took that as an indication the conversation was over. He turned and started down the rest of the stairs, whistling, a little off key. Ranger listened as the whistle became softer and softer. He heard the stairwell door open and close and there was no more whistling. It was only after he registered the silence he realized what Madrid had been whistling. 'Feel like makin' love.' _Feel_ like makin' love? He'd let Madrid get his man and then he was going to kill the son-of-a-bitch.

_A/N: This might be as close to a song fic as I ever get. The reference is to the song 'Feel like Makin Love' by Bad Company, for those of you too young to remember it! Ranger recognized it and maybe the reason he was so perturbed about Rock's whistling is because the lyrics resonated with him:_

_B__aby, if I think about you__  
__I think about love.__  
__Darlin, if I live without you__  
__I live without love.__If I had the sun and moon__  
__and they were shinin__  
__I would give you both night and day__  
__Love satisfyin__I feel like makin__  
__Feel like makin love__  
__Feel like makin love__  
__Feel like makin love__  
__Feel like makin love to you._


	12. Chapter 12

**I use them for fun and not for profit.**

**Chapter 12**

"Tommy Hicks just reported his girlfriend missing and Helen and I thought you should know being as you're looking for his brother." Grandma Mazur's voice held a note of excitement as if she was imparting the breaking story on the six p.m. news.

Her news was a breaking story as far as Stephanie was concerned. She was in her office at RangeMan with access to all the search programs that were legally in existence, not to mention a few that were just the other side of legal. Life experience told her not to be surprised that the Burg grapevine could deliver a story she didn't know. Stephanie checked the lower right hand of her monitor. It was barely nine thirty. The Burg came to life early.

"That is interesting news," Stephanie said. "Was anyone else reported missing with her?"

"No, and the police aren't taking it seriously, because she hasn't been missing long enough. Tommy's real upset though. He says she's there every morning right as rain to give him his medicine. And today she wasn't there."

"Is she a nurse?" Stephanie asked.

"No." Grandma Mazur's tone was hushed as though she was getting ready to impart top secret information. "She's a witch doctor."

"A witch doctor," Stephanie repeated.

"Yeah," Grandma Mazur continued. "She does spells and everything. She uses smoke and herbs and potions. Tommy's got the arthritis and she gives him a treatment every morning."

"Do you know her name or what she looks like?" Stephanie asked her grandma.

"Her name is Mary Black. That's kind of funny her being a witch doctor and all, because she probably uses black magic."

"What does she look like?" Stephanie asked. She was cataloging her grandma's comments away to be pulled out later for speculation.

"Well, she's tall and skinny. I've seen her in Giovichinni's before. She was buying heart and liver. They sell organ meats, but they don't put them right out front. You have to ask for it."

"Does she look like Olive Oyl, from Popeye?"

There was silence on the other end of the phone for a moment. "Come to think of it, she kind of does," Grandma said. "There's more to this story though. Tommy said his car is missing, too."

"Where'd you get all this information?" Stephanie asked.

"From Melba Fridley. She knows all about Mary Black. She's seen her in her witch doctor robe. Mary is a good witch though, because her robe is white, so probably her magic is white, too." Grandma sounded disappointed at the thought.

"Thanks," Stephanie told her grandma. "I think you've given me some useful information."

"No problem," Grandma replied. "But if something exciting happens, you need to let me know. I'm going crazy in my room, but your mother won't let me go to Bingo or the hair parlor for another week, until my hip is better. She says it's doctor's orders. If they find Mary Black maybe I'll call her and let her witch doctor me."

Stephanie disconnected and leaned back in her chair. She was tired and sore. The tired was because she hadn't slept well after Rock left and that was entirely her fault. She'd acted without thinking and then spent the rest of the night wondering if starting what would surely be a short-term relationship with Rock was a wise decision. This is what being old was like, she realized. You had to think about everything. Twenty years earlier, she'd have woken up in the morning with a warm man next to her and her sore muscles would have been from a night of hot sex, and not from sitting in a car all day waiting for something to happen. At twenty, there'd been the morning after guilt. At nearly forty-one, there would be a clear-cut decision before she jumped.

Who the hell was she trying to fool? It was Rock who had pulled back, not her. She was glad he had, because it gave her plenty to think about. He was attractive and smart, and the kisses had been great. She was feeling warm and tingly and with a little care and nurturing that tingle could turn into a nice orgasm. The affair would be short and sweet, because Rock was just at RangeMan temporarily. He would be her transitional man and after that, what?

Would the short swim in the sea of sexuality make her confident enough to look for a longer term relationship? Would it enable her to be emotionally equipped to deal with an occasional one-nighter? She was a normal woman with normal needs that had been buried for two years while she and Morelli lived out their pseudo-marriage. Joe hadn't buried his needs. Why had she?

Sometime during the middle of the night, probably during its darkest hour, she thought ironically, tendrils of a new plan had worked their way into her mind. Last night the kisses had been good, but the night before, when Ranger had kissed her, it had seemed as if the whole world had tilted sideways. After he'd gone it had seemed like she was walking on glass on her short trip across the apartment to the bedroom. Her whole body had become a giant nerve ending. Now she was wondering, could Ranger be her transitional man? Could she use the man she was still in love with to get her back in touch with her own sexuality? There was no problem with getting involved in a messy relationship. It wasn't in his vocabulary. Maybe she should just surprise him by letting him find her in his bed some night. He wouldn't kick her out. She was sure of it.

Stephanie stood and walked from her office to the break room. A glance down the hallway told her Ranger's office was dark. He didn't apprise her of his day to day schedule. Usually she knew what he was up to from the weekly briefing with the core team. They all met and explained what particular project they were working on and Ranger updated them on the inner-workings of the other divisions of RangeMan. That meeting was still two days away. She was fine with Ranger's absence. Mostly they just nodded to one another when they passed in the halls. He had avoided her for so long avoidance was now the norm. He'd been acting differently toward her since Julie's arrival, more approachable. Could she find the courage to approach him to be her transitional man?

She tucked that thought away as she entered the break room. Lester and Bobby were deep in conversation. They both nodded to her, but didn't stop talking which made her curious enough to eavesdrop. She was disappointed to learn it was business which had them so conversationally enthralled. She opened the refrigerator door and pulled out a bottle and a nice red delicious apple. She'd depleted her hidden sugar stash, but she wasn't even hungry. She'd left her office in an attempt to get her thoughts back on track. She took a big bite of the apple and chewed thoughtfully as she made her way back to her office.

In the short time she'd been gone people had tried to get hold of her. The rapidly blinking light on her desk phone indicated at least two new calls. They would have to wait. Something was blinking at the back of her mind and she had to think for a moment. It was something to do with Mary Black. She let her mind recreate the scene they'd seen last night when Tinley and Mary had left the apartment. If Mary was missing, she and Rock could have been among the last people to see her.

It came to her all at once. Grandma said Mary was a good witch. Mary was not a witch at all. If she was involved with Tinley, it wouldn't be too far of a stretch to imagine her as a follower of Naldo Montara. Both Ranger and Rock agreed Montara was indulging in his own fantasy world of Santeria. She pulled her chair closer to her desk and clicked on her saved searches.

Two minutes later she had her "ah ha!" moment. Montara claimed to be the Santerian saint known as Obalata, and he wore only white. Was there a connection between Mary and Naldo? It seemed likely. She closed the file and picked up her phone to call Rock, hesitated, and decided to listen to the messages before she called him.

The first was a message from one of her part-time researchers telling Stephanie she had a schedule conflict and wouldn't be in. The second message was from Julie, asking her if she was free for lunch.

Stephanie called Julie back first. She was working in the bonds office until noon and then was free until her class at three. Stephanie made plans to meet her downstairs at noon. The kid sounded lonely and Stephanie once again promised herself to spend time with her.

She took a deep breath before she called Rock. It might be a little awkward.

"Hey, Angel, what's up?"

"I have some interesting news," Stephanie said. "Where are you?"

"I'm back in front of Tommy Hicks' building."

"Can you see the parking lot?" she asked.

"Yeah."

"Is the blue Honda missing?"

"Yeah, it is. Everything is quiet here. I haven't seen any evidence of our lovebirds. Think they're still out nesting?"

"I don't think that was the plan," Stephanie said. "We heard the woman say they'd be back before Tommy missed them. That's part of why I called. I've got an ID on the woman. Her name is Mary Black. She's Tommy's girlfriend and he called the police this morning and reported her missing."

"No shit? Are the police looking for her?"

"No. Tommy told them she'd only been gone since last night. The PD didn't think that was significant, but Tommy did. It seems Mary is a witch doctor and every morning she treats Tommy for his arthritis with potions and herbs. Not to worry though, she's a good witch, because she dresses in white robes."

Rock was quiet for a while, ingesting the words and playing over the significance. "So the connection between Tinley and Tommy might not be just about their being cousins," he said thoughtfully. "The connection might be Mary and Naldo. We'd be better off following Mary."

"Yeah, if we knew where she was." Stephanie said. "Are we still on for this afternoon? I've got a couple of hours of work to do here and I just made a lunch commitment."

"Yes," Rock said. "I have some things to tell you, things you don't know, despite the fact that you are a top-notch cyber-investigator. How'd you get the info on Mary Black?"

"I'd like to tell you it was through brainstorming and sophisticated search engines, but my Grandma told me."

Rock's laugh was loud and long and pleasurable in her ear. "Call me as soon as you are finished with lunch. We'll have a good talk this afternoon." He disconnected with no further conversation and Stephanie thought he was becoming acclimated to life at RangeMan.

Stephanie spent the rest of the morning working uninterrupted and she was ready to meet Julie for lunch a little early. She made the trip down the flight of stairs to the first floor and looked forward to a little time to talk to the girls. When she walked through the door to RangeMan Bail Bonds, Stephanie saw Lula and Connie as well as Julie. Julie was at the computer, probably doing data entry. Lula and Connie were studying a picture. They all looked up at her entrance.

"How's the bounty hunting going?" Lula asked. "You get your man?"

"Not yet," Stephanie said. She didn't want to let them know they'd seen him or there might be questions as to why there'd been no capture. "We've got some good leads though."

"How does it feel to be back out on the street?" Connie asked. "Cause we got a guy here you might be interested in bringing in."

Stephanie walked over to look at the picture and drew back immediately. It was a black and white 8 X 10 glossy shot of a naked man with an enormous…package. It was grotesque. "Who, or should I say what, is that?"

"That's Peter the Great. He's the new male stripper down at the Snake Pit, and he's FTA."

"The Snake Pit is still open?" Stephanie was amazed. The place was a dump years ago and she couldn't imagine it would have aged well.

"Just reopened, under new management," Connie said. "It's a strip club for women now, and Peter was their opening act. He got in a fight with some patron's boyfriend and got arrested. He missed his court date yesterday and now he's FTA."

"And we have to get him rebonded and back out on the street," Julie said with a grin. "Because Aunt Connie and Aunt Lula are going to take me down to watch him dance. Do you want to come along _Aunt_ Stephanie?" Julie was laughing outright now and Stephanie was starting to reconsider the decision to let Julie work with these women.

She turned on Lula and Connie and said, "You can't take Ranger's daughter to a strip club!"

"Why the heck not?" Lula asked. "She's a married woman. She knows what goes where and why, I imagine."

"I imagine she does, too," Stephanie said. "But she's eighteen. It's illegal."

"Well, hell, she looks twenty-five," Lula replied. "Maybe we shouldn't have let you look at this picture of Peter," Lula said to Julie. Again Julie laughed and Stephanie was pleased to see she was enjoying her work, but she was worried at the same time.

"Don't worry about it, Stephanie," Connie said. "We won't corrupt Ranger's little girl. She could probably teach us a thing or two."

"I don't know about that," Julie said as she picked up her purse and prepared to leave. "I will say I've never seen anything like Peter and his, uhm…greatness."

They went to Pino's by Julie's request. Her first meatball sub had been so delicious she wanted to try it again. They were halfway through their meal when a shadow fell over the table. Stephanie looked up to see Joe.

"Hey," she said.

"Hey, yourself, mind if I sit for a minute?"

Stephanie scooted over and let Joe take a place next to her on the seat of the booth. "This is Julie Freeman, Ranger's daughter," she told Joe.

"I remember," Joe said. He smiled and extended his hand across the table to shake Julie's. "I'm Joe Morelli," he told her. "We met on a very bad night quite a few years ago."

Julie nodded solemnly, "I remember."

"Welcome to Trenton. Stephanie tells me you're working at RangeMan and going to school."

"Yes," Julie said. "I'm majoring in criminal justice, but I'm just a freshman."

"Criminal justice," Joe said thoughtfully. "Do you want a career in law enforcement, or maybe you're planning to go to law school?"

"I'd like to work for the FBI," Julie said. She blushed a little, as if she was letting go of a long held secret.

"That's admirable. Working at RangeMan, even in the bonds office will provide some good experience for you."

"I think so, too," Julie said, warming to her subject. "I'm hoping eventually to get some field experience, but I have to be twenty-one first."

Good luck with that, honey, Stephanie thought. She couldn't imagine Ranger ever putting his daughter in harm's way. She sat and watched as Julie and Joe carried on a friendly conversation. It was the Morelli magic she knew. Joe had a way with women, even women he had no interest in bedding, like Julie Freeman. It probably made it hard being a one-woman man when there were so many women interested in being that one woman. Stephanie hoped Maria was that woman. Joe's cell phone chirped and he pulled it from his pocket and frowned.

"I've got to run," he told them. "I'll tell you something because it will be in the papers tonight. Trenton has a serial killer and he's upping the ante. There have been two victims this week. I caught the case of the young girl found down by the warehouse district earlier this week and there was another this morning. This one was different, but there are enough similarities to make us think it's the same guy."

There was a thickening in Stephanie's throat as if she had to swallow, but couldn't. She was almost choking when she forced out, "Different how?"

"Older, for one thing, and found in a car. Most of the victims have been young girls. All of them mutilated and some…" he stopped as he heard the indrawn breath from across the table.

"It's okay," Julie said. "I'd like to know."

"They were all young except today's victim," Morelli told her. "We can't place these women from a particular part of Trenton or socio-economic class, but several of them were students and there is evidence of sexual activity prior to their death, although no evidence of rape. I'm not trying to scare you, Julie, but take care. Don't put yourself in risky positions."

"Today's victim," Stephanie said. "Was she found in a blue Honda and is her name Mary Black?"

Joe turned on Stephanie. His phone chirped again and he looked away for a moment to check the text message. "Shit, Stephanie. That hasn't been released. How'd you know?"

"I'm doing a little skip tracing. Not much really. I'm orienting a new guy to the Burg and our skip is Tinley Hicks. Grandma told me Tinley was probably staying with his cousin Tommy. And this morning she told me Tommy Hicks reported his girlfriend and his car as missing."

Joe stood at the edge of the booth and looked solemnly at Stephanie. "So, you're back in the field, and you're after Tinley Hicks? The dweeb that was in my class?"

"Just temporarily," she said. "In the field, I mean. I like my desk job, and yes, Tinley, the dweeb you graduated with."

"I've still got Maalox in the cupboard at home. I don't think it's expired." He smiled down at her. "Look at it this way, Cupcake. After this story breaks, the Burg grapevine will retire the story of you and me." He bent and dropped a quick kiss on the top of her head and gave Julie a little wave as he walked away.

Julie watched him walk away. "He's nice," she said. "When I found out you were marrying him I was upset. I hoped that you and my dad would…well, I know Ranger cares about you."

"I know he does, too," Stephanie told Julie with a little shock to realize it was true. She mostly didn't think about Ranger in those terms anymore.

"I'm sorry about you and Joe," Julie said. "I was happy when I heard you were divorced, but he's a nice guy and I'm sorry."

"There is no need to be sorry. Joe and I are very close, but we work better as friends. I'm not unhappy about the divorce."

"Do you think now that you are single again, you and my dad might…"

Stephanie's smile was tinged with sadness. A fact she was unaware of, but something Julie saw clearly. "No, Julie. I don't."


	13. Chapter 13

**I use them for fun and not for profit.**

**Chapter 13**

Rock knocked on Stephanie's office door within five minutes of her return from lunch. She looked up and said, "I was just calling you. Come in and shut the door."

He did as she asked. He was wearing RangeMan black again today and Stephanie was at once intrigued by the resemblance, and determined to see differences.

"I just found Mary Black," she said, "and the blue Honda. I ran into my ex-husband at lunch and he told me there is a serial killer in Trenton."

"I know that," Rock said. "It's my half-brother. The M.O. is unmistakable, but he's not implicated in any of the deaths. The police have nothing."

"Mary Black is dead and her body was mutilated just like the young women have been."

"Mutilated how?" he asked. "Missing digits?"

Stephanie frowned. "I don't know. Joe didn't say. But I'm thinking Mary may have been the contact. Tinley is missing, unless you've seen him this morning?"

"No, he's not back at Tommy's apartment."

"What's going on, Rock?" Stephanie asked. "You came to RangeMan and asked to work undercover so you could get this guy and then it turns out the guy is your brother."

"I'll answer your questions if I can, Angel. Where was the body found?"

"I don't know," she told him. She picked up her cell and called Joe.

"Yeah," he answered. He sounded distracted and she could hear traffic noises in the background.

"Joe, can you tell me where Mary Black's body was found?" She listened for a time and then said, "Thanks." She disconnected. "I thought you told me you were watching Tommy's apartment this morning," she said.

"I was, but I left right after I talked to you. I figure we aren't going to see Tinley in the daylight. I was thinking we might watch again tonight."

"Mary's body was found in Tommy's car. In his parking lot." Rock remained silent at her news, but Stephanie saw the tightness in his jaw and the clenched fists.

"Do you remember I said someone was watching us yesterday?" she asked him.

"Yes."

"Well, someone was watching you today. Morelli said they thought she'd been placed in the car after she was killed and driven to that parking lot. Someone waited until you left. It must have been Tinley."

"Or my half-brother," Rock said.

"Joe's still at the scene. Do you want to go back to Tommy's?"

"Yes." He stood and waited for her to grab her purse. She walked in front of him and opened the door and walked directly into Ranger. He stepped aside and watched silently as Stephanie and Rock passed by. The men nodded at one another and as they made their way to the stairs, Ranger's eyes followed Stephanie.

The trip to Tommy Hicks' apartment was made quickly. Stephanie drove her car and they pulled up to the yellow crime scene tape, where she angled the car to the curb. As they got out of the car she saw Carl Costanza and walked toward him. "Hey, Carl."

"Stephanie," he said. His face was grim, but he gave her a quick smile. "It's been a long time since I've seen you at a crime scene."

"That's true," she agreed. "Carl, this is my partner, Rock Madrid. Rock is new to Trenton and new to RangeMan. I'm just showing him the ropes. Can we get any closer?"

Carl raised his head and looked across the lot. He saw Joe Morelli eyeing them and then Joe beckoned with his hand. "He's still got a soft spot for you, Stephanie."

"That's good, Carl, because I've got one for him," Stephanie said. She wasn't going to let any rumors start about Joe and her. What Carl thought about Rock was beyond her control, but she knew there'd be talk. There always was.

As they walked toward Joe, Rock asked, "Do you know everyone in this town?"

"Yep, and that's why you wanted my help. Remember?" She drew up next to Joe and said, "Joe, this is Rock Madrid. He's my new partner, the one I'm in the field with. Rock, this is Joe Morelli, my ex-husband."

The men shook hands and then Joe turned to Stephanie. "I assume you're here because this person is involved with someone related to your skip."

"Yes. Tinley hasn't been around, has he?"

"Hell, I don't even know if I'd recognize him, but no, he hasn't. Neither has his brother. Tommy works at the Lucky Strike bowling alley. We called, but he didn't show up at work today. I don't necessarily want to tell him, but someone has to let him know his girlfriend is dead." He turned around and looked at the blue car. Stephanie and Rock followed his line of vision.

"They already took the body to the morgue," Joe said. "She was pretty messed up."

"Messed up how?" Rock asked. "Missing digits?"

Morelli gave Rock a long look. "If you know more about this you need to let me know. Yeah, she had missing digits. The fourth finger on both hands had been severed. We didn't find them."

"You won't," Rock said.

"He's here," Stephanie said.

"Who? Tinley?" Rock asked.

"I don't know. Whoever was watching us last night. He's here, I can feel him." She spun around, but saw no one who looked out of the ordinary. She looked up at the window of the apartment building and still saw no one, but she was convinced.

Joe ignored Stephanie and directed his attention back to Rock. "If you know something about these murders you can talk to me or I can have you brought in. How'd you know about the severed fingers?"

Rock shot a look at Stephanie. "I'll tell you here and now," he said to Morelli. "And any information I give you, you can use, but it's all off the record. I'm DEA and I'm using RangeMan for a cover."

"Shit," Joe said, pushing overlong hair out of his eyes. "Don't tell me this is going to be a freaking jurisdiction fight?"

"It's not. The DEA is after Naldo Montara for drug trafficking. He is a priest in a Cuban religion known as Santeria and he uses illegal drugs in his religious rituals, and he also performs ritualistic sacrifices. Most Santerians use animal sacrifice. I believe Montara uses humans as well, but I can't link Naldo to the killings in Trenton. It's just a gut feeling I have."

"It's not unusual to cut off a digit and offer it to a deity in some Satanic rituals where human sacrifice is involved," Rock continued. "At the end, the already traumatized victim becomes the complete sacrifice."

"So you think this Naldo Montara guy is responsible for this murder?" Morelli asked.

"I know Naldo Montara well and I believe he is capable of human sacrifice and mutilation. He is my half-brother. I can't prove he's behind the killings, but I think the DEA can link him to dealing and that might be enough to get him off the street." Rock stopped speaking and closed his eyes for a moment.

Morelli was silent, waiting for Rock to continue. When he did start to speak again his voice low and his words clipped as if he was struggling to hold onto his temper. "There is no jurisdiction problem, Detective. Get him if you can. If not the DEA will get him on drug charges, and frankly I hope you find him before we do. I'd rather see him charged with multiple counts of murder than possession with intent to sell. And we never had this conversation." He turned and walked back toward the yellow police line. He ducked under it and stood by the side of Stephanie's car. She shot a look at Joe and hurried toward Rock.

"I just lied to a cop," he said as Stephanie approached. "Take me someplace quiet, Angel. I'm going to tell you the truth." Stephanie reached out to him and placed her hand on his arm. He turned and enfolded her in a tight hug. He leaned his chin forward and placed it on top of her head. After a few moments he pulled back. "I need to get out of here," he said.

She got in the car and drove back toward RangeMan. She was going to take Rock to her apartment and give him time and space to tell her a story that she was at once curious about and loathe to hear.

They walked into her apartment and she pointed to the sofa. "Sit," she told him. "It's the middle of the afternoon and I need something to drink." She returned with two cans of Coke and handed him one. She watched as he took a gulp of the soda. He was eerily similar to Ranger, but only in looks. This man had emotions, and he wore them very close to the surface, especially right now.

"I'm going to tell you my life story," he said, setting his half-empty soda can on the sofa table. "To start out with I'm not DEA."

"You're not?" Stephanie exclaimed.

He held up his hand. "I'll explain. I was DEA and I resigned my post right before I came to RangeMan. I was raised by my mother's family in Miami and, unlike most Cuban-Americans, I'm not Catholic. I'm Jewish."

"I know that," she told him. "I discovered it in my research."

"My father came to this country with nothing but his books," Rock said. "He was an erudite man and a humble man. When the time came for him to leave Cuba he did so without looking back and he left all his worldly goods, except his precious books. He met and married my mother in Miami. She was Jewish as well, but not Cuban. She was a citizen of this country. She died in childbirth with me. My father raised me to the best of his ability and we were close. When I was two, he remarried, this time to a Cuban woman, also Jewish. They had a son and they called him Naldo.

Naldo was wild and constantly in trouble. When he was ten he killed a boy in the neighborhood. There were witnesses and there was no doubt that he'd done it. The police were going to arrest him and my father was afraid his status would be found out as he was not in this country legally. My father had developed a quiet reputation as a Judaic scholar and he had a good life. He wanted me to have the advantages living in this country would bring, but when Naldo got into trouble my father's dream of a life of religious freedom for his sons started to crumble.

Papa contacted my mother's family and arranged for them to take care of me. Then he and his new wife and my half-brother left and went back to Cuba. He gave up his life so that I could have mine and he saved his other son from what would surely have been some sort of incarceration."

Rock ran his hands through his hair and was quiet for a moment and Stephanie could see the strain on his face. Telling this story wasn't something he did lightly. "My mother's family was wealthy," he said, "and Papa knew they would see to it that I was educated. And they did. I grew up in a loving family, but not with my father. It was difficult, but I managed to remain, infrequently, in contact with my father, primarily because of the efforts of my father and my mother's family. I knew very little of his life in Cuba, but I know it wasn't pleasant. He lived with the family of his wife, even after she was killed."

"She was killed in Cuba?" Stephanie questioned. She'd been watching Rock as he talked. His eyes had been trained on the floor as he spoke, but she didn't think he was seeing anything in the apartment. The timbre of his voice, rising at times with emotion he couldn't keep suppressed, had held her attention totally on his words. While he spoke, she'd sat in the chair across from him. He looked up at her and she saw pain in his eyes. She wanted to go to him, but there was an aloofness about him. It was as if he needed to be apart from her and his normal persona to get the story out.

"Yes, in Cuba," he answered her softly. "Ten years ago my father's wife was killed. The details are sketchy, but my father told me he was afraid. Naldo was grown, a young man and he hadn't given up his wild ways. My father was afraid of his son. He thought Naldo had killed his mother. Less than a month later, my father was dead." Rock paused to pick up the can of cola and drained it in another large gulp. He closed his eyes for a moment before he continued.

"When I went to work for the DEA I used any contact I could find. There was very little information on my father's death, but I know he was murdered and his body mutilated. I knew Naldo had killed his own father, my father. I kept track of him and three years ago I learned that he had entered the country using false documents. That's why he is now known as Naldo Montara." The empty Coke can crunched loudly as Rock's fingers crushed it. He let it drop to the floor seemingly unaware he'd done so.

"Even as I was keeping track of him, he was keeping track of me. He stayed in Miami. I learned of his interest in Santeria, and then I began to hear horrible things though many contacts. Naldo is very smart and there is never any trail, but I know he is responsible for many deaths. He's…crazy.

He came to Trenton because I was located in Newark. I believe his intent is to kill me, but I'm going to get him first. I gave up my job with the DEA because I am going to kill my brother, in cold blood, if necessary. It's the least I can do for my father. Now you know the true story, Angel."

He sat back against the cushions of the sofa and Stephanie watched as he slowly lost the tenseness that had encompassed him during his story telling. He looked at her long and hard and gave her a little half-smile that caused her breath to hitch. He's not Ranger, she told herself. He only looks like Ranger. In truth, the emotions she'd seen play across his face as he spoke scared her a little. She had assumed Rock was straightforward and easy going and now it seemed that was a role he'd adopted. She hadn't known him at all, but she was getting a fast track into what made him tick.

Stephanie was quiet a long time trying to make sense of what she'd just heard. "I don't understand," she said finally, "why you'd need to be affiliated with RangeMan."

"It's simple," he told her. "I needed some cover to get close and when I heard Tinley Hicks was arrested and bonded out by RangeMan. I originally thought Hicks was connected to Naldo because of the drugs. Now I'm thinking there was another connection, Mary Black. I am going to kill my brother, make no mistake. RangeMan afforded me the tools I needed, and still need, to surveil Tinley and find my brother. He's here in Trenton and the dead bodies piling up are proof."

"You need to talk to Ranger," Stephanie told him. "You owe him the truth."

"What was said here is between you and me, Angel. Last night we almost made love. I didn't think it was fair to let you get involved with me without knowing the entire story. Now you do."

"I do know the story," Stephanie said, "and it places me in a horrible position. If you act as a RangeMan operative, it could be detrimental to the organization. I am obligated to tell Ranger. I work for him. He assigned me to help you."

"I'm good at research, too, Stephanie. I asked for you. I read about your ability to find people, your great capture rate, and then I came to RangeMan and heard all the stories. I became infatuated with the Bombshell Bounty Hunter."

"That damn Lester and his big mouth," Stephanie interrupted and Rock's face broke into a small smile.

"Lester told me I could look but not touch. He told me they all knew you were Ranger's woman. It didn't matter if you were married to Morelli or not. Lester said there was a connection between you and the boss man and no matter how sweet your ass was..." He stopped talking for a moment when her saw her full lips press together into a thin white line. "His words, Angel, not mine. He said it didn't matter how much any one of the men wanted to ask you out, they wouldn't because you belong to Ranger."

"Well, that's just bullshit!" Stephanie said. "I owe Ranger a lot, my life for example, but Ranger has made it clear from day one he is not a relationship guy, and he had no interest in anything remotely permanent. I married another man for Pete's sake, and now I'm single and I'm…" she trailed off, because she wasn't sure what she was.

"You've got to tell Ranger," Stephanie said, abandoning her previous line of conversation.

"I can't do that," Rock said.

"He won't judge you, and he won't try to stop you, but if you are doing something that could bring trouble to RangeMan you can't do it under the guise of being an employee. Ranger has more resources than even I know. He can help you. It's not for anyone to judge what you plan to do. Tell him."

Rock stood up from the sofa and reached out for her hand. He pulled her up and against him. "Last night you would have let me take you right here on this sofa, or maybe on the floor, or up against the wall." Stephanie blushed hotly at the memory of the kiss she and Ranger had shared against the very wall he was talking about. "I walked away, because I didn't think it was fair to let you get involved with me without knowing the true story. I want you, Stephanie. But I'm picky. I want you to come to me knowing who I am. And I mean that I plan to kill my half-brother. I will be a cold-blooded murderer. And I want you to come to me knowing who I am not. I am not Ricardo Carlos Mañoso. I am Ricardo Carlos Madrid."

He pulled her closer and brought her mouth close to his. The kiss was tender and unsettling. "I heard you last night. You said the word transition when we kissed. I'll be your transitional man, or I'll be more. That's up to you. You talk to Ranger if you have to. You know where I'm staying. If you want me, you know where to find me. If you don't, well, we'll both survive."

He left her in her apartment and she sat on the sofa in the same place he'd sat to tell his story. She felt an obligation to tell Ranger, but she didn't want to betray Rock's confidence. It wasn't that she cared if Naldo Montara died. She couldn't summon up any remorse for enabling Rock to find his brother. His brother was a crazy mass murderer and the sooner he was stopped the better. She thought about calling Joe and telling him the truth, but she couldn't. Joe had the cop gene and if Naldo turned up dead, Joe might have to arrest Rock. She rested her head in her hands and sat for a few minutes before pulling herself together and making her way down a floor to her office. It was still midafternoon and there was always work to be done.


	14. Chapter 14

**I use them for fun and not for profit.**

**Chapter 14**

There was the usual quieting that happened every day around five. There was no starting time and no ending time. RangeMan had implemented flex time way before it was a business office fad. It was never called flex time; Ranger correctly assumed his employees would spend the amount of time necessary to get the job done. Why did his employees feel such loyalty to him? Why did she always go the extra mile to make sure her work was perfect?

In her case it went back to the very beginning with Ranger. Back to when he was her mentor, to when he came to her rescue anytime she called, and sometimes even when she didn't. There was no reasonable explanation for the things he did for her, unless you considered that he loved her. He'd told her he did and yet he'd never allowed them to be a couple. At one time she was so angry about it, if she'd been a man she would have called him to the mats. But, of course, she wasn't a man, so she'd married Joe. She'd really thought she was doing the right thing.

Julie's return had been a catalyst. Years ago, she'd buried thoughts of her and Ranger and a life together. Something about seeing Julie as a young woman, a young married woman, had unearthed those thoughts. Stephanie wasn't hopeful any longer that she and Ranger would end up together permanently. Six years of avoidance on his part, six years minimally recognizing her existence, was telling. Since Julie's return something had changed between her and Ranger though, and Stephanie was surprised to realize she was hopeful for the return of their friendship. She didn't know if she'd pursue her idea to use Ranger as a transitional man, but she would pursue the friendship.

Possessions didn't seem to be important to Ranger. His apartment was sparsely decorated and as Stephanie had seen recently there were still no personal mementos littering his shelves. Not even a stack of 'to be reads' on his bedside table. He had cars, but he seemed to hold no special significance to any particular car. Years ago, when she had destroyed several of his cars in a short space of time, he accepted the loss with a shrug of the shoulders and a casual remark about cars being easily replaced.

C'est la vie. Such is life. Roll with the punches. She'd rolled and ended up with Joe. Joe and Ranger in some ways had changed roles in her life. Joe was the one who always had her back now. She thought Ranger might still want to, but she hadn't tested that theory. What would she do if she found he didn't care? Her entire acceptance of the _my love doesn't come with a ring_ line was based on the fact that somewhere, deep down, Ranger loved her. It helped her live without him. If she was unfulfilled and sometimes miserable, then he was, too. Someplace behind that blank face, behind that _I want you in my bed, if not fully in my life_, there was pain Ranger was hiding. That had been her working premise for six years. What if her theory was untrue? The infrequent and impersonal contact she'd had with him for six years could be just as easily ascribed to his not caring for her at all, except in the way he'd care for any employee.

"Hey." She startled at the sound. She'd been so deep in thought she hadn't seen Lester come to her doorway. "You about ready to knock off for the day?"

"Yeah," she said. "I'm finishing up."

"It's Zero's birthday. A bunch of us are going out for pizza and some brew. You want to come along?"

"I'm not sure," Stephanie said. The idea of sitting around with the guys and eating pizza was appealing. They didn't do those kinds of things often anymore. Everyone had a private life and private business.

"It'll be fun," Lester promised. "Grab your new partner and bring him. We can tell him tales about the good ole days, you know, stories of the Bombshell Bounty Hunter."

"From what I hear, you've already told him," Stephanie said.

"Nah, I just glossed over the highpoints. I didn't give any details."

"Oh, that does sound like fun," she said sarcastically. "An entire evening hearing about my screw-ups."

Lester advanced into the room. "They weren't screw-ups, Beautiful. Most of the time, if the facts were all presented, you weren't even to blame. You always said, 'It wasn't my fault' and it usually wasn't."

Stephanie shot him a quick grin. "If I come tonight I'll hold you to that. You'll have to end each story with, 'It wasn't her fault'. When and where?"

"Pino's at 1900."

"I don't know for sure. If you want Rock to come, you ask him. I've got something I need to do, but depending on how that turns out, I could be there."

Lester left her alone and she returned to her dilemma. Should she tell Ranger about Rock, or not? Should she sleep with Rock? If she slept with him would it be because she wanted the big O, or would it be because he reminded her of Ranger? And what if she did sleep with him and then he didn't go away? What if he pulled off his plan to kill his half-brother and then ended up working for RangeMan full-time? She didn't do the men of RangeMan. It was her rule.

The big question she couldn't ignore any longer was simple. Did she want Rock or Ranger, or Rock and Ranger? Shit, nothing was simple. Some men liked tall leggy blondes, while others like petite brunettes. Maybe she was attracted to the dark and handsome Cuban type. A quick look at her watch told her she couldn't put it off any longer. She picked up her phone and dialed.

"Yo." Just his damn voice made her heart race.

"I, ah, it's me. I mean, it's Stephanie, and, uhm, we need to talk, soon." She sounded like an idiot. When had she become a stammering fool?

There was a heartbeat of silence before he responded. "About what?"

"I don't want to say now, but it's important…and private."

"Come to my apartment. I'll have Ella bring dinner for two. We'll eat and talk."

"When?"

"An hour." This time she disconnected without another word. An hour. She had an hour to formulate what she was going to say about Rock's plan and about transitions.

She closed down her office for the day and went to her apartment. The newness of it wore at her and all of a sudden she was homesick for her old apartment. The building was still there and it hadn't gone condo yet, but it had been bought by a property management company. Some of the neighbors had passed on, but last time she'd stopped in to see Dillon, Mr. Wolesky was in the elevator fighting with Mrs. Bestler over whose job it was to push buttons.

It hadn't been that great of a place to live when she was single and in her thirties, but it had been her first real home. It was the place where she'd first slept with Ranger, the place where she'd watched Ranger knowingly walk into an ambush and get shot. Would she be a loser if she lived in that building as a forty-something divorced career woman? She could afford better now. She'd always felt as if she was in a holding pattern there, with her life about to begin, while the other residents were in a holding pattern waiting for their life to end. If she moved back in, would she be in the waiting to end holding pattern?

Time was passing in more ways than one. Ranger would be expecting her upstairs soon. She shook off her introspective mood and set herself into grooming mode. She showered quickly and fluffed her hair. It looked okay, or maybe a little better than okay. Mr. Alexander helped with some subtle highlights, but she had very little gray to cover. Her hair was still as wild and curly as ever and she let it go its own way. Again, Mr. Alexander helped with a good cut. She'd given up longing for long straight sleek locks and embraced her curls.

She spent time smoothing foundation on her face and checking closely for little wrinkles, crow's feet, signs of impending jowls. She twisted and turned and checked for the beginnings of a dowager's hump. And finally she relaxed. Her Hungarian genes hadn't expired yet. She may have been forty, almost forty-one, but she looked good and she felt confident as she slipped into her newest black bra and matching black panties.

She wore her most comfortable jeans, and a nice blue shirt with a low scooped neckline. The last thing she did before she left was put in the diamond earrings Joe had given her. Joe Morelli was part of her life and it seemed fitting that he should somehow be there when she took this next step. The only thing she knew for sure is that she would tell Ranger about Rock. It was her obligation as an employee, as head of research. After that she had no idea which way her night would go.

When she knocked on his door she was calm. When he opened it her calm dissipated a little. He looked so handsome, so utterly in control, so totally Ranger. She had to be honest with him, nothing less would do. His hand, at the small of her back, as he escorted her inside, left a burning imprint. She had been waiting for this and avoiding this, maybe since the day they met. Tonight was going to be a turning point, but first they had to talk.

The smell from the kitchen was wonderful giving evidence that Ella had already delivered the meal. As if sensing her indecision, Ranger took the lead. "You said you needed to talk, but I thought we might eat first. It's been a long day for me and I'm hungry."

"That's fine with me, but we can't eat and not talk. What's on my mind is important and it's driving me crazy. If I don't talk I won't be able to enjoy my food." Ranger laughed and Stephanie bristled in spite of her determination to remain calm.

"Babe, I've never seen you not enjoy your food. This must be a very serious conversation you want to have."

"I don't want to have this conversation at all, Ranger," she said. "I don't think I have any choice. It's about Rock."

"Are you sleeping with him?" His quiet inquiry raised her bristles. Suddenly she was on edge and in danger of losing her temper. The calmness she'd entered the apartment with was history.

"Not yet," she said. "I'm attracted to him. I want to make sure it's really him I'm attracted to and…" she stopped. Her courage to say what needed to be said was oozing out of her and puddling at her feet. "…And that it's not because he looks like you," she said on a rushed exhale.

"And that differentiation is important?" he asked. She rounded on him with fire in her eyes.

"I don't know. When you sleep with a dark-haired curly-headed woman is it because she reminds you of me, or because you want to sleep with her. Is the differentiation important?"

"Babe." And there is was. That simple endearment. The tears came to her eyes so unexpectedly they were rolling down her cheeks before she could stop them. He gathered her into his arms and she went willingly. She could tell the embrace wasn't meant to be a prelude to sex. It was an apology, of sorts. She buried her head against his chest.

"I have to talk to you about Rock," she said, her voice muffled by his shirt. "I have to betray something he told me in confidence and I don't want to, but I have to."

Ranger pulled back and looked down at her. "Let me help you, Babe." He gently wiped the remaining tears from her cheeks with his thumb. "Are you here to tell me Madrid is no longer employed by the DEA?"

Her eyebrows lifted. "How did you know?"

"Silvio." His hand was again at her back. "Let's eat, and then you can tell me. I already have a good idea, but we'll discuss that later. I've had a long day and maybe you have, too."

His voice was low and soothing and her calm was returning. They walked into the kitchen and Stephanie inhaled the wonderful aroma. "You were right, Stephanie," he said. "The other day you said Ella and Julie might be matchmaking. When I saw the food Ella brought tonight, I knew you were right."

Stephanie looked at the small table set for two. Usually they ate at the bar, but tonight the table was covered with a linen cloth. The meal was simple consisting of roasted chicken and broccoli. There was a basket of warm bread and a bottle of white wine, uncorked waiting to be poured. "She has dessert waiting in the refrigerator," he told her.

"What?" Stephanie asked.

"No, not now," Ranger told her. "You have to be a good girl and eat all your vegetables and then you can see what's for dessert." At her small frown he said, "Trust me, Stephanie. We're going to eat, and then we'll talk and it will be okay. First things first." He pulled out her chair.

Amazingly, they had dinner conversation that didn't revolve around Rock or her dilemma. They talked about Julie and about RangeMan and even a little about her family. Mostly they talked about Julie. "Did you know," she asked Ranger, "she wants to work for the FBI?"

"No," Ranger said. "There is much more I don't know about Julie than I do know. I talked to Rachel last night and she's calmed down some. It helped her to hear Julie was going to school if only part-time, and I think Rachel is happy she's living so close and working in the company."

"I have second thoughts about Julie working for RangeMan." Stephanie told him about the newest FTA, Peter the Great, and Julie's reaction to it. "It occurred to me that the education she gets from Lula and Connie may rival what she learns at college." Ranger smiled, finding the story amusing, but Stephanie knew better than to tell him of Lula's plan to take her to the Snake Pit. She had a feeling he wouldn't find that amusing at all.

Dessert was pineapple upside down cake and it rivaled her mother's. Ranger wouldn't have a piece, but he watched every bite she took. It should have made her feel self-conscious, but it didn't.

They took their wine glasses and went back to the living room. "Now, Babe. You can talk. Was I right? Does this have to do with the story of Madrid not being with the DEA?"

"Partly, and partly about transitions. I can't tell you. I never made a promise to him, but I think it would be wrong to repeat the private things he told me, and yet, I think he could be planning to do something that could potentially hurt RangeMan."

"He plans to somehow sabotage RangeMan?" Ranger asked.

"No, not intentionally, but it could turn out that way."

"Do you remember I told you the icon for contacting Silvio would disappear from your desktop twenty-four hours after it appeared, along with all the files he sent you?" Ranger asked.

"Yes, and they did."

"Silvio kept delving, because his instincts told him there was more to the story. He told me Madrid had resigned from the DEA and I asked myself why he would do that. The answer is simple. He has a personal vendetta. He wants his half-brother dead and to insure his goal is met he needed to align himself with an organization that would allow him to work outside the law." At Stephanie's gasp he stopped.

"You figured this out?" she asked him.

"It's not rocket science, Babe." He was smiling. She had worried so long and so hard about the ethics of breaking Rock's confidence and Ranger had figured it out. He was sitting across from her smiling!

"I don't know how he plans to pull off this op, or why he feels it's necessary, other than Montara is a psychotic serial murderer," Ranger said. "I'm thinking you do know, but I'm not going to press you for the details."

"Why, knowing this, would you allow him to use RangeMan, and me?"

"I wouldn't let him do anything to put you in danger. I asked you several times if you were sure you wanted to proceed and you indicated you did. As for why I let him inside RangeMan, I didn't know all the details in the beginning. He was already here before I understood he had a personal mission."

"It doesn't bother you he plans to murder someone."

"Killing someone to prevent more death is not wrong," Ranger said. He was looking so intently at her she turned her head to avoid his gaze. They were talking now about a time in her past. A time when she had known without being told, Ranger had killed to protect her. A time shortly after they became lovers. A time of confusion, hope and eventual despair. It was the first time he'd sent her back to Morelli. The second time was when she'd proclaimed her love for him. When he told her she was important to him, but he wouldn't commit in any way. That time Morelli had given her the ultimatum. Six years later she was back where she had started. She was about to confess her love for Ranger again, but this time she knew there would be different results. He knew it too, because he asked the question.

"You said you wanted to talk about transitions," he said.

"Yes, I did." She raised her wine glass and emptied it and held it to him for a refill. He raised an eyebrow, but took her glass and walked into the kitchen. He returned with it half-full. It was a statement and they both knew it. Her lightweight status when it came to alcohol was well known to Ranger.

"Lester and some of the guys are going to Pino's right about now," she said. "They are celebrating Zero's birthday. Lester invited me and he was going to call Rock and invite him. If I go, I will go home with Rock and I will spend the night with him." She waited for a reaction, but she got none.

She thought about getting up and driving the heel of her shoe into his instep, just to see if he'd flinch. She resisted the urge. She continued. "I loved you and I loved Joe. You pushed me away and Joe demanded marriage, or he'd push me away. I married Joe and the oddest thing happened. He lost his jealousy of you. He trusted me and things worked well, for a while. When we divorced I was traumatized and he let me stay, out of guilt probably. In the two years since we've been divorced we've become closer than ever. We are the best kind of friends because we both care deeply for one another, which brings me to my present point."

She stopped talking for a moment to take a swallow of wine. "I haven't had sex in two years. Joe and I are in a really good place. We like it so much we don't want to jeopardize it with physical intimacy. It occurred to me that I need a transitional man. Someone to get me over the hump and back into the mainstream and it occurred to me Rock might be that man."

"Why are you telling me this?" he asked her.

"Because you asked me earlier if I was sleeping with him. Now you know," she said. "But there is more." She was getting ready, for the first time in her life to be direct, to state her desires and needs in a simple straightforward fashion.

"If I sleep with Rock I'm afraid I might be using him. He looks so much like you, it's what first attracted me to him. I can't make the decision. The thing is, I love you. I know and understand your no relationship rule. If we made love tonight, or if we never make love again, the outcome doesn't change. My love for you is a certainty."

Ranger was unmoving, listening to her intently, and she found she was becoming aroused by her own words. The power of admitting her desire was heady.

"It's also a certainty that I am not going to be celibate the rest of my life," she continued. "It has occurred to me you could be my transitional man. I'm leaving the decision up to you. Make love to me, or send me to Rock."

"You want to sleep with me? Tonight?" His expression wasn't blank. It was seriously grim. Had she crossed some line that would forever change how he responded to her? How could that be? He was the one who'd always insisted it could only be sex.

Stephanie took in a deep breath and held her shoulders back. Her spine was straight. She bent forward slightly and set her glass on the end table. "I could care less than nothing if we _sleep_ together. I want you to make love to me. All night, if you've still got it in you."


	15. Chapter 15

**I use them for fun and not for profit.**

**Chapter 15**

Ranger stood, took a long swallow of wine and set his glass on the table next to Stephanie's. He walked slowly toward her and held out his hand. She wanted to be sophisticated about what was getting ready to happen, but they both saw the tremble of her hand. He pulled her up from the sofa and clasped both his hands gently around the back of her head. His lips were incredibly soft against hers, barely touching, yet demanding a response. She tasted the wine on his lips, much sweeter than it had seemed from her glass. Her lips parted of their own accord and his tongue found its way inside her mouth. His probing was gentle, but insistent, and she responded by leaning her body into his.

He moved back, teasing her with his resistance. He broke the kiss and let his lips trail across the corner of her mouth to her cheek and then her ear. His breath was soft and his teeth easy in their bite on her lobe. Her breath was coming in short quick gasps. Her arms were around him pulling him in closer, but he kept his body from hers. He moved his attention from her ear, back across her cheek and claimed her mouth again, this time with more force, but still he kept space between their bodies. When he broke the kiss she moaned and it was a sound filled with need. He brought her face more fully in front of his and when he spoke he was so close she could inhale his breath.

"You said all night," he told her. "And I can give you all night. I've still got it in me, Babe." His repeating of her words gave her a thrill that moved though her like quicksilver. Her entire body shuddered in one long pre-orgasmic tremble. She wanted this man.

"But we're going to go slow and savor every part. It's been a long time, Stephanie, since we've been together in this way." His voice was barely above a whisper, but it made all the little hairs on the back of her neck come to attention in a very good way. "I'm going to kiss you once for every night you were with Morelli instead of me."

She turned her face up expecting another kiss, but he didn't kiss her. He lifted her easily into his arms and walked across the room to his bedroom. He set her on her feet next to the bed and lowered his head once more to kiss her. When they broke apart gasping for air, Stephanie said, "That's a lot of kissing you've got planned. My lips will be sore."

"Not just your lips, Babe." This time she did have a small orgasm and she pressed her thighs together to intensify it. She didn't have time to dwell on the pleasure, because Ranger's lips were starting new fires as he moved his mouth to the low scooped neckline of her shirt.

The sound was discordant and she didn't recognize it at first. It wasn't a sound she normally identified with a ring-tone. Ranger pulled back and rested his forehead against hers. The sound continued. His softly uttered, "Fuck," was her first indication things weren't going to continue as she'd hoped.

He pulled away and went toward his phone on the dresser. "Babe, I have to get this." She nodded and he picked up the cell phone and walked into the outer room.

She was in pain. The abrupt disjoining of their bodies, their mouths, had caused her physical pain. In the background she heard Ranger conversing with someone in short clipped tones, but she made no effort to eavesdrop.

When he came back into the room his expression was blank, but she saw the lines of tension that hadn't been there a few minutes prior. "I have to go," he said.

"Go where?" she asked. He looked at her and was quiet for a long moment before he said. "I have to go, that's all I can say. I'll be back in a few hours at the most. Will you stay?"

She sat on the edge of the bed. She was having trouble abandoning her arousal as seamlessly as he had. "Babe," he was sitting on the bed next to her. "I can't not go. I don't have that option. I'm asking you to stay. Please. Just a few hours and I'll be back."

"Yes, I'll stay." Her voice sounded weak, anemic, and she hated that. He got up from the bed and went into the dressing room. When he emerged minutes later he was dressed in a way she'd hadn't seen for a long time. All black, of course, and there was a gun at his hip. She looked down at his black lace-up boots and knew there was another gun under his pant leg, and a knife. "Will you be safe?" she asked him.

"Yes. Lester, Bobby and Tank are with me on this. It's been a long time coming and I'll be glad when it's over. Lester is bringing Rock with him. We can use the extra man."

It was the first time she'd heard Ranger use the name Rock and she wondered if he'd even realized he'd done it. He came over and pulled her from her seat on the bed and gave her a quick hard kiss, and then turned to walk away. "Ranger," she called. He turned to look. "Are you, well, I mean…are you Batman?"

He laughed and flashed her the two-hundred watt smile that stole her breath away. "Not nearly, Babe. If I was Batman, I'd tell Commissioner Gordon to go fuck himself and I'd be in bed with you. I can't say no to this call." And he was gone. She was alone in his apartment, and he was still the man of mystery.

She wandered into the living room and picked up the wine glasses. The candles from supper were still burning and she blew them out. Ella would gladly take care of the dinner mess, but she cleaned it up. She pushed the cart into the foyer and called Ella to tell her it was all right to pick it up. If Ella wondered what Stephanie was doing in the apartment alone when she wheeled the cart out, she didn't ask and for once Stephanie didn't offer any explanation.

It was early and she could probably find something to occupy her time, but she wasn't in a mood to do anything constructive, so she sat on the sofa and waited. An hour later she got up and walked into the large bathroom off the bedroom. She was assaulted with memories of her other stays in this apartment. Her clothes hit the floor with abandon as she stripped. She was in the shower, lathering every intimate part of her body with Bulgari, before she even had time to think about it.

It was 0200 before Ranger unlocked his door and entered his apartment. She was still there, he could feel it. He crossed the dark apartment and stopped at the door of the bedroom. There was a soft light coming from a rarely used nightlight in his bathroom. His mind went back to only days before when he'd stood in much the same place looking at his daughter, and her husband, in his bed.

Stephanie's leg was outside the covers and he followed the long line of thigh up to a fringe of black silk. He moved closer to see the edge of black panties almost obscured by the old worn black RangeMan tee she was wearing. He smiled at her propensity for wearing his clothing to bed. She couldn't sleep naked, something in her upbringing wouldn't let her, even when she was in his bed waiting for him to join her. It was part of her.

Her face looked worry-free in sleep. She was a mature woman and more beautiful by far than the young woman he'd trained to be a bounty hunter, but in repose she looked young and innocent, his Babe. He marveled at the deep sleep she fell so easily into. He, himself, spent most nights at a much shallower level of sleep. He could rouse her from that deep sleep. She would come awake in his arms and they'd continue where they left off, but it didn't seem right.

He'd asked her earlier if she'd wanted to sleep with him and her answer had been direct, but right now he decided he did want to sleep with her. He removed his weapons and took time to store them properly, before he pulled his clothes off and slipped under the covers next to her. His arms came around her and pulled her back into him. She curved her body into his, never waking, and he took a long deep breath of his scent on her. She'd used his shower gel. His lips curved into a soft smile as he fell into a deep and peaceful sleep.

Stephanie woke in the morning with the knowledge she hadn't been in bed alone. The smell of Bulgari that wafted from the bathroom was indication Ranger was back. She turned and saw the indention where his head had lain on the pillow next to hers. Had she slept through sex? Was that even possible? The unrelenting tingle between her thighs told her it hadn't happened. Before she could pursue that line of thought any further, Ranger walked through the bedroom door carrying a cup of coffee. He set the cup on the bedside table and leaned down to give her a long, leisurely kiss. She had a brief thought about morning breath, but his tongue in her mouth gave indication he wasn't bothered, and she forgot her concern, as she was getting seriously bothered.

He broke the kiss and straightened. "I've got an appointment with the RangeMan attorney this morning, Babe. It's related to what happened last night and then I'm busy all day. Will you come back tonight?"

"Will you promise to stay home all night if I do?"

He hesitated. "Yes. At least I think so. I plan to be here all night." She frowned at him. "I spoke with Rock last night. I won't go into details now, but he's a good man. I'm partnering with him myself until Tinley Hicks is brought in."

She noticed he avoided any mention of Naldo Montara. "I told him," Ranger continued, "if he slept with you I'd kill him, and the only way I'll be leaving tonight is if he would need me to...assist him, but that's not likely."

"Okay," she said. "I'll come back. What time?"

"I've got a dinner meeting. I'll be back by 2000 or 2100 at the latest."

"That's kinda late."

"Babe."

"Okay." She didn't mean to be grumpy, but now that she knew what was in store for her, she didn't want to have to wait to get it. She threw back the covers and followed him from the bedroom into his dressing room where she watched him slip his wallet into his pocket. It seemed natural to her to be this close to him, although it was something that hadn't happened for years. She looked around the dressing room and realized it was exactly the same as it had been the first time she'd borrowed a RangeMan t-shirt to sleep in. It was almost easy to forget time had passed.

But time had passed. Was Ranger having second thoughts? His kiss indicated not, but surely he could have awoken her last night when he returned to the apartment. She'd had fantasies, before she'd drifted off to sleep about what they could do if they pulled the drapes on his new bed and really closed the world out. Ranger of ten years ago would have rescheduled an early morning meeting to be with her. Maybe he needed time to reconsider being her transitional man.

"Why did you get a new bed?" The question popped from her lips without giving her time to reconsider the decision to ask.

He turned and looked at her for a long moment before he answered. "I found myself having thoughts of you in my old bed that I didn't want to have. You were married and I no longer wanted to look at my bed and remember."

"That was an easy solution," she said. "Just change the furniture and wipe away the memories." She was hurt. She secretly cherished the memories of the times when they were together and she'd thought, hoped, maybe Ranger did, too.

"It didn't work," he said quietly.

"Are you having second thoughts about a sexual relationship with me?" she asked.

"No. Are you having second thoughts?"

"No, but maybe I need to explain myself better. I will always want more than you can give me, but I'm willing to accept what you give me and move on. I know it was a joke about killing Rock if we slept together, because if it's not Rock then it will be someone else. I don't need to be married, but I want to be with someone, and eventually I'll find that someone."

"It wasn't a joke." His arms came around her quickly and he hauled her against him. She felt her breasts flatten against his chest and saw his mouth descending toward hers. She closed her eyes and gave herself up to the kiss. When he broke away he turned and walked from the dressing room, through the apartment and out the door without a backward glance or a word.

An hour later she was in her office. If Ranger was partnering with Rock then she was back on research full-time and that was okay. It suited her. She was aware of the normal sounds of the morning, and wafting in faintly from the break room was the smell of coffee. Her stomach rumbled and she picked up her phone and called the first floor. The call was answered on the first ring.

"RangeMan Bail Bonds, this is Lula speaking, how may I assist you?"

"I want a donut."

"Me, too. You gonna make the run, or are you too important up there on that fifth floor?"

"I'll go. How many are down there today. Is Julie working?"

"Yeah, she should be here any minute."

"Okay, I'll be there in twenty with a big box."

She disconnected and looked up to see Rock walk into her office. She gulped and felt a flash of guilt, and then chided herself for her nervousness. She'd told him she felt obligated to talk to Ranger and she hadn't betrayed his confidence. It hadn't been necessary. Ranger already had most everything figured out.

"I had an interesting evening," he told her.

"I heard you went out with Ranger and the guys on some super-secret mission."

"Well, Angel, I don't know about the super-secret part, but I did get to tag along with the RangeMan A team and it was beyond interesting."

"In what way?"

"In every way. Those guys have worked together so long they don't even communicate verbally. They just seem to know what needs to be done and they do it. I'm not sure why we were where we were, or why we destroyed what we destroyed, but it had something to do with an old favor being called in. I think Tank said the guy's name was Ramos." Stephanie paled. She turned and picked up the paper she'd discarded earlier. The headlines read 'Fire destroys warehouse in the North Ward'. She'd skimmed it earlier and one name had popped out at her. Ramos.

The warehouse was completely destroyed, the article said, and it was not known at the time of writing what was inside or who owned the warehouse. The warehouse across the street was unharmed by the fire and that warehouse was owned by Alexander Ramos. She hadn't thought of Alexander Ramos in years and she was a little surprised he was still alive. Ranger had no particular love for the Ramos family, but he'd always had a grudging respect for the old man. Things were starting to make sense now. Again, she felt a little chill run up her spine. If it was an old favor it might have had something to do with her. Ranger had pulled strings and worked behind the scenes many times to save her, she thought.

"You look pretty busy," Rock said. "Do you have time to talk?"

"Oh, I'm busy all right," Stephanie said. "I'm just on my way to the Tasty Pastry to pick up donuts for the girls in the bonds office. You want to come? I'm buying."

"Sure," he said. "I have some things to say and maybe they're best said outside the walls of RangeMan."

Her curiosity was piqued and she was sure it had something to do with what Ranger said earlier. As they pulled out of the RangeMan garage Stephanie started the conversation. "I hear I'm busted back to desk duty. Ranger told me this morning he is going to partner with you until you get Tinley Hicks."

"That's true. He's a good man, Angel. I can see why all his employees are so loyal to him."

"He said you were a good man," Stephanie said. "I didn't betray your confidence. I might have, because I thought he deserved to know, but most of it he already knew."

"He told me that," Rock said. "He doesn't know all the details of my life or that Naldo killed our father, but he understands what I plan on doing is necessary. I'll just let it go at that."

"He already knew I was no longer DEA," Rock said. "He offered me a job, Stephanie. He's looked at my work records. I have no clue as to how he accessed DEA personal and case files, but he had them. He saw that I have a lot of investigative experience and that I'm good. I'm going work in the PI part of RangeMan and if things work out like we think they will, I'll be running that department."

"Congratulations," Stephanie said. "You know what that means?"

"I'll be a permanent RangeMan employee?"

"Well, yes," Stephanie said, "but if you are the manager you'll have an office on the fifth floor. We'll be neighbors." There was silence while Rock contemplated this new fact. "I don't sleep with co-workers," she said.

Rock laughed a carefree laugh and said, "Angel, the sacrifices we make for our careers!"

"What's that mean? You can just casually toss away your desire for me in favor of your career?"

"Well, no offense, but yes." And then he raised an eyebrow in a totally Ranger-like way. "Besides Ranger told me he'd kill me if I slept with you." She glanced over at him as she pulled into the parking lot of the Tasty Pastry. He did resemble Ranger and he was a handsome man. His smile carried the wattage of Ranger's, almost.

"Buy your own damn Boston Crème," she snapped.


	16. Chapter 16

**I use them for fun and not for profit.**

**Chapter 16  
**Stephanie pushed her knee hard against the door and slipped through the small opening she'd made, balancing a box of donuts in one hand and carrying a Styrofoam cup of Coke in the other. Yes, she was going to overload on sugar. It might be the only thing that would keep her from exploding due to sexual frustration. Tonight would be the night. She knew it, but tonight was so far away.

"What's your hurry, Angel? If you'd slowed down I could have gotten the door for you," Rock said as he entered the bonds office behind her.

"Sorry, I'm just hungry. I want to set this box down and open it." That's exactly what she did. Lula appeared from the back files and Julie looked up from the computer where she was once again doing data entry, her fingers moving over the keyboard with lightning speed.

"Donuts are here," Stephanie called and Connie rolled her chair back to look through the doorway to her office.

"I'm slammed. Payroll is due tomorrow and Ranger gave me a special project to work on. Send a donut in here."

"You want glazed?" Stephanie asked.

"Don't care," she responded.

Rock helped himself to a Boston Crème and left the office with a casual good-bye wave.

"Did you see that?" Lula asked. "That man looks so much like Ranger it's scary, and on top of that, he likes donuts. He might be perfect."

"He's unattached," Stephanie told Lula.

"Are you sure about that?" Lula asked. "I heard him call you Angel. I thought it was kind of sweet."

"It's just a nickname. He tried calling me the Bombshell Bounty Hunter and we settled on Angel."

"That's right," Lula said. "You never did like that name Bombshell. I thought it was cute. And in answer to your first question, I don't need no man. I got one."

"What?" This information was enough to get Connie up out of her chair and into the main lobby area of the office.

"Yes, ma'am, I got myself a good one."

"Tank?" Stephanie asked.

"Yep. He and me reconnected a few weeks ago, but we been takin' it slow this time. He came to my place in the middle of the night last night and he was wound up like a clock spring, about some job they did. And he smelled good, and toasty, like a bonfire and the great outdoors and all, and one thing led to another and, well, let's just say I helped him unwind."

"That's great," Connie said. "Now get to work. If I don't get payroll out and get this project finished we can't go out tonight."

"Yeah," Lula said. "I'll get busy, because that would be a real shame if we don't get to go see Peter. Speaking of which, did you hear about the big goings on last night, Stephanie?"

"Uh," Stephanie stalled, not sure how to answer, but she was saved by the door opening.

"Here comes the man of the hour, now," Lula said. Stephanie turned around expecting to see Tank, but she saw Howdy, a big broad-faced pleasant man with a head of orange corkscrew curls. He was a recent hire and although she didn't know him well, she had an affinity with his curls. Lula went over and slapped him on the back.

"Congratulations on a job well-done," she told him. He blushed and set a body receipt on the desk.

"Howdy single-handedly brought in Peter the Great yesterday evening," Lula told Stephanie. "And Peter's already bonded back out. He's performing tonight and Connie and me are going to go see him dance down at the Snake Pit and it's all because of Howdy here, doing such a good job."

Howdy's blush, which had mostly faded, glowed bright pink again. He smiled shyly and walked out. It was always interesting to Stephanie how gentle some of these huge RangeMan guys were until they were after some skip. It was kind of like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, and Howdy reminded her of someone who definitely wanted to hide…from Lula.

Julie came out from behind the computer monitor long enough to eat a cake donut with sprinkles. Stephanie wondered for a moment about the wisdom of asking, but then went ahead.

"Do you talk to Scott much, Julie?" Julie's smile made Stephanie think of her father. "Yes. This strange little man, Hector, came to my apartment yesterday and got everything set up for me. Now Scott and I can Skype. We talked for a long time last evening. He's not overseas yet, but they are going soon, so I don't know how that will affect our communication. He's doing really well."

"That's nice. When you talk to him again, tell him hi from me." Stephanie knew Hector had acted on Ranger's request. The fact that he was thinking of his daughter's needs was encouraging.

Stephanie spent the remainder of the day working her way through various search requests. Virtually everything done at RangeMan needed some kind of research. She delegated the lesser searches to the staff who occupied part of the floor below her. If it was complicated, or sensitive in terms of privacy or security, she took it on. When she pushed back from her chair at five she noticed her text message light was flashing. It was from Ranger telling her he'd be late, but he'd definitely be home and that he'd call her when he was back.

Ranger being late was a good excuse to pamper herself. She went to her apartment and took a long, luxurious soak thinking all the while it would have been nicer to be in Ranger's shower. Her manicure was good, so she spent extra time exfoliating. She smoothed scented lotion on her legs and arms and she picked out the sexiest lingerie she had. She should have left work early and gone shopping, but she hadn't thought of it soon enough.

Dinner was a peanut butter and olive sandwich and while she ate it she checked her closet to find something suitable to wear to Ranger's. Her wardrobe wasn't full of slinky, seductive clothes and she'd feel a little silly wearing something like that in any case. She wasn't trying to seduce Ranger. What ever happened between them tonight would be straightforward. A pair of black knit pants and a black, jersey wrap top that would cling to all her curves was her choice.

Stephanie tried to do an honest assessment of herself in the mirror and she came to the conclusion that she looked pretty damn good for forty, almost forty-one. It helped that Ranger was older, too, but age looked better on men. It was a sad fact of life.

She was ready, but still there was no call from Ranger. A glance at the large black tote bag she had taken out of retirement for her stint as a bounty hunter gave her something else to do. She would change back to her normal pocketbook. Her short-lived job as a RangeMan field operative was at an end.

She was halfway through changing purses when her phone rang and she hurried to answer it, thinking it might be Ranger. It was Julie, or at least it sounded like Julie. The background noise was making it hard to hear.

"Stephanie, it's Julie."

"Where are you?" Stephanie asked. "I can barely hear you."

"I'm at the Snake Pit with Lula and Connie and it's terrible. Peter the Great is pointing his thing at me, and it's really not so great. I'm not having a good time at all, but I don't think Lula and Connie want to leave."

"How did you get in there? Didn't they ask for ID at the door?"

"Lula told me just to show them my driver's license and they wouldn't even look at the date and she was right, they didn't. I thought it would be okay because I'm not drinking, but the thing is I'm a little bit younger than most of the other women in here and the dancers are paying a lot of attention to me. Can you come get me?"

"I'm not even sure where the Snake Pit is anymore," Stephanie said. "Is it still on Chestnut Street?"

"I think it's in the same place it's always been," Julie said. "When we got here, Lula said the place hasn't changed one bit, and that's not a good thing. Can you come get me, please?" Julie sounded like she really wanted to leave.

There was the sound of barware shattering in the background and Julie uttered a soft shriek into Stephanie's ear. "And hurry."

"I'm on my way. Keep your phone on and I'll call you when I'm near. You can just run out and get in the car."

"Thanks." There was the sound of more breaking glass and then the phone was dead in Stephanie's hand.

She grabbed her wallet and shoved it into the smaller purse. She found the compact canister of pepper spray and stuffed it in as well, praying she'd have no use for it. She glanced briefly at the cosmetics lying on the sofa. It had been a long time since she'd left her home without extra mascara and hairspray in her purse, but there was no time to finish the purse-to-purse transfer.

Five minutes from the time Julie called, Stephanie was well on her way. What were Connie and Lula thinking? Ranger would be furious with them if he discovered they'd taken his daughter to a strip club. It didn't matter if she was married and knew what went where and why, she was still just eighteen.

The sound of breaking glass before the call had been disconnected worried Stephanie. If there was an altercation the police would come, and if they found an under-aged patron, it wouldn't be good. When she drew close to the Snake Pit Stephanie called Julie and breathed a huge sigh of relief when Julie answered her phone.

"I'm here."

"Okay," Julie said. "I'll be right out." True to her word Julie ran from the front door seconds later and hopped in Stephanie's little Miata. She was wearing skinny jeans and a slinky red top with four-inch red stiletto-heeled pumps. Her hair was long and flowing and all her curves were showing. It was no wonder they hadn't questioned her ID.

Julie was laughing. "I'm so glad to see you," she said. "Thank goodness you came. It was terrible and fun, but mostly terrible. I thought I was going to have to put money in Peter's G-string to get him to leave me alone, but Lula put money in and he turned his attention to her."

"Julie," Stephanie started hesitantly, "I know that you're married and that you're an independent person, but you might want to consider some of the things Connie and Lula suggest. If your father found out you were there, he'd be very upset. He's not a prude and he'd probably understand your desire to go, on some level, but it's not a safe place.

"I know that," Julie said. "It's just that when they suggested I go, it sounded like fun. I was sort of lonely and I don't know anyone else near my age, so I thought why not?"

Stephanie felt a little twinge of guilt. She knew it was hard for Julie, even if it was her own choice to be here with no friends. She had nieces that were close to Julie's age. Maybe she could introduce them, and maybe Julie would meet people in her classes. It was sure to happen. It would just take a while.

Julie buckled her seat belt and Stephanie revved the engine and worked through the gears, quickly putting distance between them and the Snake Pit. They rode in companionable silence and Stephanie felt calmer with each block they traveled. She was still busy, planning Julie's social life, when she saw him. She almost missed him, but something registered in the corner of her eye. It wasn't totally dark yet, but the sun had set and the halogen street lights gave the area a yellow glow. Stephanie did a double take to make sure. The man walking along the street, shuffling along the sidewalk in his peculiar duck-footed gait, head bent forward, was Tinley Hicks. All of Stephanie's senses went on alert.

She pulled her Miata over to the curb and idled quietly as she watched Tinley. He was carrying a small brown paper bag, hugging it protectively, close to his side. Julie was silent, but when Stephanie glanced her way she could see the question in the young girl's eyes.

"See that guy, the partly bald guy with the straggly hair?" Stephanie said to Julie. "That's Tinley Hicks, that's the FTA Rock has been after. Keep your eyes on him. I'm going to call Rock." Julie did exactly as Stephanie said. Stephanie muttered under her breath in frustration as Rock's phone went to voicemail.

Next she tried Ranger. Voicemail. Shit. Tinley stopped abruptly and made a right turn crossing the street to stop at the side of a white Buick LeSabre. He quickly unlocked the door and slid inside and Stephanie's heart sank. The recent economic downturn had hit Trenton hard and there were blocks of empty storefronts and homes. With the exception of the area adjacent to the Snake Pit, there was very little traffic. Her car was red and a little flashy and she'd have to follow from a distance to keep from being noticed. She put her car back in gear and they creeped forward to the corner.

"I can't get hold of Rock or Ranger," she told Julie. "I'm going to follow him and when he gets to where he's going we'll try again to get Rock."

"Okay," Julie said. "I got the license number if you need it." Stephanie spared a sideways glance at Julie. Her eyes were trained on Tinley's car ahead of them and something about her single-minded attention to the car gradually pulling away from them made Stephanie think of Ranger.

"I'm going to have to give him a big lead so he doesn't spot us," Stephanie told her. "It looks like he's heading to a more populated area so that should make things easier." She stayed behind the Buick, sometimes allowing as much as three blocks between them. When she saw the Buick turn onto Olden she felt a lump rise in her throat. Tinley was turning into a busier area and it would be easier to follow him in traffic. It would be easier too, because Stephanie was pretty sure she knew where he was going. The farther north they went, the more certain she was. Tinley was heading to the neighborhood bar where she and Rock had last seen him, and last seen Mary Black.

Stephanie could see the flashing neon sign indicating Lou's Bar a couple of blocks ahead. She knew he was probably heading to a location where they'd find Naldo Montara. The Buick continued on past the bar and then without a turn-signal indication the car pulled abruptly to the curb one block past Lou's.

"Shit," Stephanie said. "I'm going to have to drive right by him. Don't look at him," she warned Julie as they passed the Buick with Tinley still inside. Two blocks down, the street dead-ended into a warehouse parking lot and Stephanie pulled the Miata in and parked. The warehouse beyond was dark and looked unused. There were several lights burned out in the lot and Stephanie hoped they'd be hidden from Tinley's view. She called Rock again and once more the call went to voicemail.

Two blocks in front of them, they could see Tinley standing under a streetlamp by the Buick, his back to them. He had the brown paper package clutched tightly against his left side and his right hand was holding a cell phone to his ear. He looked to the right and the left and started walking slowly toward the bar.

She made the decision quickly. "I'm going to follow him," she told Julie. "I want to see where he's going. If he goes into the bar then I'll come back and we'll wait for him to come out, but I'm thinking there might be an apartment attached to the back of the bar, or maybe upstairs. If that's the case we'll call RangeMan and have someone notify Rock. Stay with the car. I won't be too long, and you'll probably be able to see me most of the time I'm gone." She grabbed her purse and slipped from the car.

Stephanie had only taken two steps when she heard the car door open and quietly click closed. She turned to see Julie hurrying toward her as she pushed Stephanie's keys into her small cross-body bag. "I'm coming with you," she told Stephanie.

Stephanie glanced quickly at the receding back of Tinley Hicks. He had crossed the street and was nearing the bar entrance. She noticed he continued to look side to side, and over his shoulder. He acted nervous. The familiar and unwelcome tingle was at the back of her neck. Someone was watching and she hoped they were watching Tinley and not her and Julie. There was no time to argue with Julie so she motioned Julie to stay behind her and they made their way to the end of the block.

They stopped at the corner and hid as best they could in the shadow of a doorway. Again, Stephanie felt they were not alone in their pursuit of Tinley. She turned and looked behind them at an empty sidewalk. Tinley passed the entrance to the bar and kept walking. He approached the door to what appeared to be a private residence next to the bar and bent forward, apparently unlocking the door. As he straightened he turned, and Stephanie and Julie crouched low. There were cars parked in front of the bar and Stephanie hoped they would obstruct his view. He scanned the sidewalk and looked toward the entrance to the bar briefly, and then he let his gaze settle directly where Stephanie and Julie were crouched. He gave them a small salute and disappeared inside the building.

"Do you think he saw us?" Julie asked.

"I don't know, but maybe," Stephanie said. The sickening sensation in the pit of her stomach told her he'd seen them but she didn't want to say so to Julie. Tinley must have spotted her tailing him and he'd called someone. That someone was probably in the bar and she was very much afraid that person was Naldo Montara.

Stephanie remembered Joe's warning to Julie. He'd told her the serial murderer liked young women and Stephanie knew she had to get Julie out of there. They could turn and run to the car, but what if they didn't make it. Ranger would be devastated if anything happened to Julie. If she went forward into the bar she might draw attention away from Julie. If Julie could get away she would be safe, and she could send help for Stephanie. All Stephanie had to do was get the attention of whomever was watching them and try to stay alive until someone came from RangeMan. All in all, it wasn't a bad plan.

"Julie, do you know how to drive a standard transmission car?" she asked.

"Yes."

"This guy is FTA and we need to bring him in. I'm going after him. You get yourself home. Take my car back and find Rock. His number is in my phone in the car, but don't call until you are away from here. If you can't find Rock, get Tank or Lester."

"That man, Tinley, was carrying a brown bag," Julie said. "Maybe he was taking food to someone inside."

"Maybe." Stephanie didn't think Tinley was delivering food, but again she didn't share her thoughts with Julie. The sound of a dog barking was a discordant noise in an area that was mostly deserted and it caused the hackles on the back of Stephanie's neck to rise. The few cars in front of the bar seemed to be the only evidence there were people around, but she knew someone was watching them. Her spidey sense was working overtime and although she turned and saw no one, she was certain.

"I'm going in," she told Julie.

"I think I should go with you."

"Julie, you can't go. You need to leave now. You can help me best by bringing Rock back here."

"What about my dad?" she asked. "Shouldn't we tell him?"

Stephanie remembered how Ranger had put himself in harm's way to save her and Julie from Scrog. She knew she had to do the same to protect Julie from Naldo Montara. Ranger would never forgive her if Julie was injured. She'd had nothing to do with Julie's presence at the Snake Pit. It wasn't her fault, but she could never say any of that to Ranger. "Yes," Stephanie said, seeing her future with Ranger end before it began. "Tell your father."

"I'm not leaving you, Stephanie. It's not safe to be here alone," Julie's voice was racked with uncertainty, wanting to follow Stephanie's orders, but not wanting to leave her alone.

"It's perfectly safe, for me," Stephanie whispered. "I've had training. I can handle myself, but we need backup and it's your job to get help. Now go!" She gave Julie a little push and the girl took a small step back. Stephanie saw the capitulation in her eyes and breathed a sigh of relief as Julie turned and started half walking, half running back down the street to the warehouse parking lot. With any luck she would be in the car and moving in under a minute.

Stephanie made her way across the street and up the block. She opened the door to Lou's Bar and stepped inside. The light was dim and the place smelled of stale beer, urine and cigarette smoke. She made a quick scan of the mostly empty booths and turned her gaze toward the bar. On one stool Tinley Hicks was casually reclined, his back to the bar. There was a connection then, between the building he'd entered and the bar. She didn't have much time to consider that, because her eyes took in the man on the stool next to Tinley and her heart danced double-time. Ranger!


	17. Chapter 17

** use them for fun and not for profit.**

**Chapter 17**

Tinley slid off his stool and walked toward Stephanie. She saw him coming out of the corner of her eye, but her gaze was focused entirely on the other man. Her eyes were telling her it was Ranger, but she knew it wasn't. This man was the exact double of Carlos Mañoso. Rock's resemblance paled in comparison when she looked at this man. His hair was long and hung straight, falling onto his shoulders, which looked well-muscled and powerful. This man was Ranger as he had looked years ago when they'd first met.

Rock had forgotten to mention one little thing. He looked like Ranger, so much so that he could have been Ranger's brother, but Rock's brother looked like Ranger, too. In fact, Rock's brother was Ranger's double. The man staring unblinkingly at her was dressed in white and he was Naldo Montara. She was sure. He remained motionless while Tinley slowly approached Stephanie. It occurred to her that she should run. Had Julie had enough time to get away? She took a step backward toward the door and a hand came up from behind her and pressed a cloth against her mouth. She swung around, but her movements were halted by Tinley's tight grasp on her forearm.

Her eyes swung back toward Naldo, but the bar stool was empty. She tried to breathe through her nose, but the hand holding the cloth slid upward and covered her lower face completely. The smell was sickly sweet and although she couldn't identify it, she knew it wasn't good for her to breathe. The few occupants of the bar seemed to be watching with interest and one of them had stepped up behind her to help Tinley. Stephanie realized she'd walked directly into a trap.

Ranger maneuvered the Porsche seamlessly into its assigned slot. His mind had been focused on finishing up the day's business, and only on the trip home did he let his thoughts wander to what was waiting for him. He was finally going to prove to Stephanie that he could indeed last all night. For once he was going to be irresponsible. He'd act first and then they'd talk. He was ready to get out of his business clothes and slip into something more comfortable...Stephanie. He smiled at that thought. As he stepped out of the car he noticed the empty spot reserved for Stephanie's car. He frowned as he pulled his cell from his pocket. The meeting had been tense with sensitive negotiations and he cursed as he realized he'd never turned his phone on afterwards. He dialed her number. It rang six times before it flipped to voicemail. His "Call me," was terse. It hadn't occurred to him that she'd have second thoughts and remove herself from the building. He was surprised at the depth of his disappointment.

His phone buzzed in his hand and he answered before the caller I.D. could display. "Yo."

"Get up to four, pronto," Tank growled. "We may have a situation."

Ranger hit the stairs running and didn't stop until he opened the door to four and saw Tank, Rock, Lester and Bobby all looking at a monitor. She was the one with spidey-sense, but he knew. This was about Stephanie's missing car.

"What is it?" he asked.

"Stephanie's car has been static for about a half-hour. She's east of downtown, in the warehouse district," Tank said, "and she's not answering her phone."

"She left alone about an hour ago," Lester said. "Her car was tracked to Chestnut where she parked momentarily and from there she headed back north and then took off on Olden. She parked at her present location and she hasn't moved since."

"Fuck," Tank said softly. Everyone turned to look at him. "Her location on Chestnut Street," he said quietly. "Lula and Connie were going to the Snake Pit tonight, to watch some guy dance. The point where she turned around is near the Snake Pit." He walked away from the group of men and made a call. His tone was low and the conversation was brief. "I got hold of Lula," he said. "It was so noisy I couldn't hear well, but she and Connie are still there. Stephanie didn't go with them."

Rock turned from where he'd been studying the screen with the unmoving blip of Stephanie's tracker centered on the monitor. "I'm still learning my way around Trenton," he said, "so I'm not positive, but I think she's in the area where we saw Tinley and Mary Black."

"You've been on Tinley all day, right?" Ranger questioned.

"I've been at his brother's apartment all day," Rock said. "He never showed. If Stephanie got a tip about his location, she would have called." His face paled as he pulled his phone from his pocket. "I had it on silent while I had Tommy Hicks' apartment staked out. I checked it several times during the day and…nothing, but now I've got two missed calls from Stephanie. The last one about forty minutes ago."

"Let's roll," Ranger said. The men headed as one, toward the stairs as Ranger called out commands. "Two vehicles. Lester, Bobby, you guys go with Tank. Rock, you're with me." They were on their way.

There was total silence in the SUV driven by Ranger. Rock assumed he'd be upset, but Ranger appeared completely in control, calm even. "I thought Stephanie was off this case," Ranger said. "It was my understanding you'd be calling me for backup."

"That's my understanding, too," Rock said. "I have no idea why she would go out on her own. Based on the location of her car and the two missed phone calls, I'm thinking she must have come upon Tinley unexpectedly."

"Or Naldo," Ranger said. Rock was silent. "Is there anything you need to tell me?" Ranger asked him.

Rock opened his mouth, closed it and said nothing and Ranger shot a quick sideways glance at him. There'd been a hesitation, slight but real nonetheless. Ranger thought there was more to Rock's story and he'd given his new employee every chance. If Stephanie was harmed because of Rock's holding back information, he would be the shortest tenured employee in RangeMan history.

Stephanie fell forward on to her hands and knees. The hands pushing her through the doorway gave one last shove and she felt herself falling. She heard the door slam shut behind her. Her mouth was free from the cloying odor of the cloth that had been pressed tightly against it. She took in deep breaths, feeling the air travel deep into her lungs, but it didn't help. Her legs and arms were so heavy she lay in the position she'd landed. She was tired. It was her last conscious thought.

When Stephanie awoke her head was pounding and she didn't know where she was. Her arms felt tingly and she wanted to go back to sleep, but something wasn't right so she tried to fight the urge to close her eyes. Cautiously she raised her head from the hardness of the floor and pushed herself up, trying to remember where she was. Something smelled horrible. The small room was dimly lit and she could see the wood paneling on the wall was warped and water-stained, but it didn't smell like mold. She tried again to remember why she was here and trying to think made her head spin. Slowly she scooted herself toward the wall opposite the door. She was dizzy and tired and she couldn't catch her breath and it took all her energy to stay in a sitting position and lean back against the wall.

The black and white checkerboard tile floor seemed to be swaying, and looking at it made her nauseous, so she tried to focus on one square at a time. Black and then white, black and then white. Her eyes drifted to the corner opposite her. What was that on the floor? It was a dead chicken, she realized and it was what she had been smelling. The blood spattered around the chicken was dark and viscous and Stephanie didn't think the chicken had died a natural death. The first tendrils of fear started to push the fogginess from her brain. And then the door opened.

Ranger stood in the doorway smiling at her. She was safe. She stood with great effort, pushing herself up and leaning against the wall for balance. Then she took a step and wobbled her way to him. Her equilibrium wasn't very good and that made him smile.

Ranger. He was so beautiful. His hair was long and fell in soft waves around his shoulders and she reached out to touch it. "You came," she said.

"I did come, my dear. Just for you and I'm going to take you home."

"To the Batcave?" she giggled and then she frowned. Ranger wasn't wearing black. He was wearing white and he looked beautiful.

"I'm going to take you to your celestial home, where you belong. You don't belong with my brother. I've been watching you and it's time for you to go." He held out his hand to her and she took it and she let him lead her from the room and down a short hallway, but she was confused. Did she know Ranger's brother? She couldn't remember. The floor was cool on her feet and she concentrated on taking steps, her gait getting a little steadier as she slowly placed one foot in front of the other. She looked down to see her feet with the pretty pink polish on her toes. Where did her shoes go?

Ranger was still holding her hand, leading her into another small room. He turned to face her and reached out to touch her breast. This was what she'd wanted all day. Ranger. She put her hand out to touch him and he smiled.

"Wait here, my dear," he told her. "I'll be back shortly." He closed the door behind him and she heard a lock tumble. She knew that wasn't good, but she couldn't think why, her head starting to spin so violently she stumbled and fell against the wall.

_Concentrate, Stephanie_, she told herself. Why was she here? The harder she tried to remember the more confused she became. This room was much nicer than the last room, but it was smoky, too, like the other room. Maybe it was the smoke that was making her confused. She pulled her shirt up and covered her mouth, trying hard to filter the air, and she turned slowly to look at the room. There were no dead chickens in this room and she felt a little better about that.

The room was filled candles, though only a few of them were lit, and there were soft pillows on the floor. And there was smoke. Was the room on fire? No. She saw a larger brass censer, just like the one the priest used at High Mass. It was hanging from a hook on the wall and tendrils of smoke escaped from it and curled toward the ceiling. The smoke wasn't good. She knew that, but she didn't know why, she just knew she needed to stop the smoke. The black wrap jersey top was easy to pull over her head. She wadded the fabric up and made her way to the censer. She lifted the top and stuffed her shirt inside, tamping down the smoldering incense, but she breathed in spite of her efforts not to and inhaled the smoke deep into her lungs. She slid to the floor and lay back on the pillows and her eyes closed. This time when she awoke Ranger was there. His hand held hers softly and he was smiling at her. He was naked.

Ranger sat next to her and reached out and helped her take off her pants. She looked down and smiled. Her Victoria's Secret lingerie was all she was wearing. She didn't know where her shoes were, but Ranger didn't have any shoes on either. She could see his toes. Ranger had pretty toes. Ranger had nine toes. She reached her hand to his feet and started counting. One foot had five toes. The other foot had one, two, three and then there was no toe. But he had a pinkie. It made Stephanie laugh.

"Do you like my feet?" Ranger asked her. She became solemn as she looked at him. When did his hair grow so long? And when did he lose his toe? Her mind slipped away into a memory of Joe and she shook her head to dispel the image, but it wouldn't go away. She couldn't quit thinking of Joe's feet. Joe had all his toes. She remembered Joe talking about the serial killer and then she remembered everything. The killer took fingers and toes. This man wasn't Ranger. It was Naldo and he was going to take her fingers and toes.

He leaned forward over her and she shrunk back into the pillows. She saw his penis, erect and inching closer to her. This man was not Ranger. Ranger didn't have an ugly penis. "You're not Ranger," she told him accusingly.

"I am Obatala, the sculptor of men. I will take you into me and I will form you and you will seek your celestial father. My brother's time with you is through." His words were chilling. In a brief moment of clarity she wondered if this room had been Mary Black's last sight. She wondered if he had 'formed' Mary by removing her fingers, and then she didn't think at all, because he was close to her, reaching down to pull her remaining clothes off. Her legs were heavy, but she used all her remaining strength. Her timing was perfect. She raised her knee just as he came close and she rammed it with all her might, directly between his legs.

Montara groaned and fell backward and Stephanie rolled, because she didn't have the coordination to walk. She crawled to the censer and yanked it from the hook where it hung. Montara was still groaning, but he was kneeling now, one hand cupping his sex protectively.

Stephanie's head was spinning as she pulled herself to her feet. Montara leaned toward her and she swung the chain with arms extended. The heavy brass censer stuck him in the head with a solid thunk and the impact knocked him off his feet. Stephanie overbalanced and fell against the wall. She half-stood and half-leaned against the wall while she waited for the spinning to subside. Naldo Montara was lying on his back, unmoving. There were hot embers from the censer scattered over his head and shoulders and her wadded up shirt was lying at his side, smoldering, but he remained motionless. She'd knocked him out, she was pretty sure, but she had to walk by him to get to the door. Taking shallow breaths she pushed herself off the wall and looked down at her bare feet. Unsteady steps brought her to his side. She carefully raised one leg and closed her eyes as she jammed her heel down on him, rearranging his scrotum, to the best of her ability, and then she moved toward the door.

When she was in the hallway she stopped to listen. There was muted noise coming from the far end and she thought that way was back into the bar. Not a good choice. There was another short hallway half-way down and she inched her way toward it, trying to be quiet and trying to keep her balance. She had an urge to laugh at the ridiculous sight she must present. Clad only in underwear, lost in a maze of wood-paneled hallway with black and white tiles under her feet. She knew she had to get out, but what then? How long had she been asleep? Did Julie find Rock? There was a noise from behind her and she whirled, lost her footing and fell hard against the wall, but no one came. She approached the short hallway and saw what looked to be a door to the street. She remembered vaguely that Tinley had gone into a house next to the bar. This had to be her way out.

She pushed herself off the wall and made a beeline for the door. Her hand curled around the knob and she pushed the door open and fell through. Her eyes were closed as she fell forward onto the sidewalk. When she opened her eyes she saw black Armani loafers and she felt hands come around her and scoop her up and pull her against a solid warmth. And then she smelled Bulgari. "Ranger."

"Babe." He folded her against him. "Are you alright?"

"Yes." Her eyes were wide as she looked up at Ranger. There was no doubt now. This was Carlos Mañoso, her Ranger. "Naldo Montara is inside. He's hurt. I hurt him. I stepped on his penis and his penis is very ugly."

There was a moment's silence. "Shit," Lester said. "She's stoned." Ranger swung her up and carried her across the street to a black SUV. Bobby followed behind and pulled the door open. Ranger sat her on the seat and pulled off his jacket. He wrapped it around her shoulders and then stepped back. Bobby moved in with a small portable oxygen unit and placed a mask over Stephanie's face. "Breathe, Bomber," he told her. "Take deep breaths and you'll feel better soon." Stephanie did as she was instructed.

Ranger looked up and saw Tank and Lester, but Rock was missing. "He went in," Tank said. "Do you want us to follow?" Ranger gave a terse shake of his head and the men remained unmoving.

"Give him a few minutes," Ranger said.

Stephanie pulled the mask from her face and looked out at the men on the sidewalk. She looked up at Ranger. "Thank God Julie got to RangeMan okay."

"Babe?"

"Julie," she said. "She got my car to RangeMan and told you to come get me."

"Babe, your car is still in the warehouse lot two blocks down. We used your tracker to find you."

"Oh my…" Stephanie suddenly couldn't speak. She tried to breathe, but her lungs were so constricted she couldn't get air in or out. Then with a huge effort she drew in a breath. "He's got Julie."

"Julie was with you?" Ranger asked.

"Yes and she must be inside," Stephanie said.

"What's inside, Stephanie?" Tank asked. "Is it a house? Rock said you guys saw Tinley go into that bar the other night."

"It's connected," Stephanie said. A hammer was pounding against the inside of her skull and she was feeling a cold fear in the pit of her stomach. They had Julie.

The men were looking at her and waiting for her to give them more of a description. "It's a hallway," she told them. "One end goes to the bar and Naldo Montara is in a room at the other end. I think I knocked him out."

"Brown," Ranger barked. "Take Stephanie back to RangeMan." Bobby Brown did as ordered and as the SUV pulled from the curb the three remaining men stood and started to strategize. The sound of a gunshot silenced them. And then they moved at once through the door, weapons drawn, prepared for the worst.

As Ranger entered the hallway he saw Rock step from the door at the end of the hallway, weapon drawn.

"It wasn't me," he said. "It came from the other end of the hall." The men turned and made their way down to a closed door. Julie's voice was loud and clear as she said, "This is your last chance, where is she?"

The relief Ranger felt was quickly stifled as he called out, "Julie?"

"I'm okay, Dad." Ranger opened the door and he and Tank stepped through and froze in place.

Julie was two-handing a gun and Tinley Hicks was slumped against the opposite wall. His lower left leg was bleeding, and he was whimpering in pain.

"They've got Stephanie," Julie said, never looking away from Tinley. "He told me they were going to kill her. Where is she?" she asked Tinley. "Tell me now or I'll shoot your other knee."

"It's okay, Julie," Ranger told his daughter. "We've got Stephanie."

There was a low chuckle from Tank. "Shit, man," he told Ranger. "That's your girl."

"Yeah," Ranger said softly. "That's my girl."

Tank walked across the room and pulled Tinley to his feet and the man screamed in pain. He pulled cuffs from his vest and prepared to restrain the man. Ranger walked across the floor to Julie who had let the gun drop to her side. Ranger took it from her and set the safety. He looked at the weapon. It was a Browning High Power 9 mm pistol. It was a classic and a well-cared for one at that.

"Julie, where'd you get this gun?" he asked.

Satisfied that Tank had Tinley under control, Julie looked up at her father. He put his arms around her and pulled her into a tight hug.

"Scott gave it to me," she said into her father's shoulder. "It was his grandfather's and when Scott found out he was being deployed he taught me to use it. I carry it with me all the time. Is Stephanie okay?"

"Yes," Ranger said. "She's on her way back to RangeMan right now."

"You want me to call Trenton P.D.?" Tank asked.

"Call Morelli direct," Ranger said. He looked up and noticed Rock and Lester were missing. "Give it five minutes, though," he said. "And call RangeMan for backup. "I'm taking my daughter home." He loosened his hug to wrap one arm firmly around her shoulders and slipped her pistol into his waistband as they walked out of the room.


	18. Chapter 18

**I use them for fun and not for profit.**

**Chapter 18**

Stephanie rolled over in her bed and pulled the pillow over her head. Surely it couldn't be morning already. The timid knocking at her door became more demanding and she pushed the covers away and got out of bed. She had a hangover. There'd been no party for her, but she was still paying the price. By the time she reached her door the knocking had become a full-fledged assault.

"What?" she said as she pulled the door open.

"Uhm, did I wake you up?" Julie looked uncertain and Stephanie understood why. She looked down at her old RangeMan t-shirt and a pair of glow in the dark boxers Connie had given her as a souvenir of her last trip to Vegas. She hadn't been thinking clearly last night when she undressed and it was the easiest thing to pull on.

Stephanie took a moment to look carefully at Julie. There wasn't anything left of the stiletto-heeled vamp of the night before. Julie wore no make-up, had her hair scooped back into a ponytail and looked all of sixteen. Stephanie reached out and wrapped her arms around the girl. "I'm so glad you're safe," she said. She pulled Julie into her small apartment and they sat next to one another on the sofa.

"I'm glad you're safe, too," Julie replied. "Did you hear what happened?"

"Yes," Stephanie said. "Bobby stayed with me for quite a while and he kept me posted on what was going on. You shot Tinley."

"I did," Julie said. "I thought he had you. I want you to know, I did what you said. I ran back to the car and tried to call Rock on your phone, but there was no answer. I started the car and was getting ready to leave, but two men came to the car and dragged me out. They took me into the bar and one of them asked if I had a phone. I said yes and he made me give it to them, but they never took my purse away, and I had a gun in my purse."

"What two men?" Stephanie asked.

"I don't know, but last night Detective Morelli came to my apartment and I described them to him. He wanted to talk to you, but Dad wouldn't let him. He told Detective Morelli you were 'incapable of coherent thought'. I think Morelli is coming back to talk to you today."

"Great," Stephanie muttered. "What did they do to you, Julie?"

"They took me to a room," Julie said. "There was smoke coming from an incense burner and it made me a little high. I was trying to figure out a plan to get out when the door opened and a man came in. He looked exactly like my father and for a moment I couldn't move. I thought it was Scrog." Julie's eyes filled with tears and Stephanie reached out again to hug her.

"I realized right away it wasn't Scrog. This man looked exactly like my father, only maybe a little younger. I asked him who he was and he said he was Obatala and he was going to take me home. Then he left and he locked the door behind him. There was a window in the room and it was painted black. I used the chair to knock the glass out, but there were bars on the window and I couldn't get through, so I got my gun from my purse and I waited. When no one came, I dumped the incense burner through the window and the room got way less smoky."

"I don't know what was in that incense burner for certain, but it was bad stuff," Stephanie said. "The man was Naldo Montara, and you're right. He looks amazingly like your father. He's Rock's half-brother, but I'm not sure if that's generally known. He's the serial killer Morelli told us about that day in Pino's."

"I know that now," Julie said. "I was ready for him to come back, but he never came. When the door did open it was Tinley Hicks. I asked him where you were and he said you were sacrificing yourself to Obatala and that you would be going home soon. I didn't believe him."

"I think he had an entirely different meaning of going home than you or I have," Stephanie said.

"Yeah, I think so, too. He's either really stupid or he was high," Julie said. "I had a gun in my hand and he didn't see it. He came close to me and tried to touch me and I raised my gun. He backed across the room and I asked him again where you were, but he wouldn't tell me, so I shot him…in the knee."

They were quiet for a moment, both of them thinking about Tinley. "Did you…" Julie hesitated. "Did you hear Naldo Montara is dead?"

"Yes," Stephanie said. She stood from the sofa and then immediately took two small steps to the side, regaining her balance.

"Are you alright?" Julie said, jumping up and taking hold of Stephanie's arm. "Are you still dizzy?"

"No," Stephanie replied. "Not dizzy. Bobby says I have disequilibrium, which means my balance is off because of the drugs from last night. It's good you were able to get the window open in the room where they put you."

"It smelled a little like weed."

"Yeah, I thought so, too. Bobby says they chloroformed me first and then left me in a room to breathe in the smoke that was probably hashish mixed with some chemical. He doesn't think the effects will last much longer, but it's a good excuse to take it easy today."

"About today," Julie said. "I came to tell you I'm going back to Miami to visit my mom and step-dad for a few days."

"Did you make that decision last night?" Stephanie asked. "Because when I could concentrate I remember thinking a piece of my mom's pineapple upside down cake sure would have been good."

"I did think about it last night. My dad stayed with me all night and we talked." Stephanie had wondered why Ranger hadn't stopped by to check on her. She thought maybe he was getting his emotions under control before he disciplined her for putting Julie in harm's way.

"Dad said he needed to stay because he didn't want me to be alone when I had an adrenaline crash. He made me eat turkey sandwiches on whole wheat and he wouldn't let me have any soda. Ella brought down tea with honey in it though. We had a great talk and he told me I needed to mend my relationship with my mother."

"Ha!" Stephanie laughed, but with little humor. "Your father gave you relationship advice?"

"Yes," Julie said seriously. "He gave me some good advice and I'm going to take it. He and I are flying to Miami a little later this morning. That's really what I came here to tell you. And also to make sure you were okay. I told Dad about the Snake Pit and how we saw Tinley and how you told me to leave. I thought you were very brave."

"Maybe not so brave," Stephanie said. "I was scared for you and I'm very happy we're both here today." They hugged again before Julie left and Stephanie silently acknowledged this girl was important to her. She hoped Julie's talk with Rachel went well. It was never any fun when a mother and daughter were at odds with each other and that she knew from experience. Today was a day for playing hooky and visiting her mother and grandmother, and if she played her cards right there would be pineapple upside down cake.

She made her way unsteadily into the bathroom and took a look at herself in the mirror. Yikes! Her hair was thoroughly tangled and running a brush through it was going to be painful if not impossible. She picked up a brush to give it a try and heard another knock on her door. Julie must have remembered something else she wanted to say.

It wasn't Julie. Stephanie swung the door open and stood face to face with Ranger. He didn't speak, just stood and stared. The sight of him, filling her doorway, did things to her she couldn't control. She blushed as the little hairs on the back of her neck stood on end. Her stomach did a flip-flop and she felt her nipples harden beneath the soft cotton of the worn t-shirt. She saw Ranger's eyes drop. He noticed. Great. She was standing there reacting like an adolescent school girl and he was unmoved, literally.

"It's been awhile," he said, his lips curving only slightly, "since I've seen you look so…"

"So what?" she asked.

"Scary."

She raised her hand, middle finger extended, and turned away making her way haphazardly across the room. At the sound of the door closing she spun around and quickly side-stepped in an attempt to remain upright. He crossed the floor with lightning speed and wrapped his arms around her.

He held her for a few moments until he felt the shudder and then he pulled back. Tears were running down her face and her body was shaking with silent sobs.

"Babe, are you alright?" She shook her head and he lifted her effortlessly and walked to the armchair. He sat with her across his lap and held her close to him, letting her cry. When her tears subsided she pulled the hem of her t-shirt up to wipe her face and Ranger managed, barely, to maintain his stoic expression. She had no idea how appealing scary was.

"Talk to me."

"I'm s-sorry," she stammered, "about Julie. I care for her and… and I would never intentionally put her in danger."

"I talked with Julie most of the night," he said. "Julie put herself in danger when she went to the Snake Pit with Lula and Connie."

"You know about that, then."

"I do, and soon Connie and Lula will know that I know about it, but Julie is primarily responsible for making that bad decision. She has to take the majority of the blame."

"Just like I'm to blame for almost getting her killed," Stephanie said.

"That's not what Julie told me," Ranger said. "Julie said you put yourself in danger and told her to leave, because you were the one with training, and she tried to follow your instructions."

"Yeah, and she ended up with a gun and saved herself…with no training. I guess there is a reason I quit doing field work."

"Morelli is downstairs in the conference room on five. He wants to talk to you, which is part of the reason I came up here. The preliminary autopsy report on Montara is back. You were under the influence of, as of yet, some unknown substance and you still managed to incapacitate him. His testicles were… ruptured." Ranger's voice stumbled over the word ruptured, as if even saying it caused him pain, and Stephanie almost smiled.

"He had a skull fracture," Ranger continued. "A temporal-parietal fracture, I think Morelli called it, and he had burns over the upper half of his body from smoldering ash. If you're feeling sorry for yourself because you didn't get to shoot anyone, then get over it."

"I gave him a skull fracture?" Stephanie asked. Her face showed concern. "I didn't kill him, did I?"

"No. He was killed when he was caught in crossfire between Lester, Madrid and two unidentified men. And that's all I can say until you've talked with Morelli. Do you understand?" She nodded because she did understand. Rock had achieved his objective and RangeMan was going to stand behind him. She wanted to ask Ranger why Rock hadn't told them his half-brother was Ranger's mirror image, but she knew there wouldn't be any answers until the investigation was closed.

"Babe." Stephanie looked up at him and she put her questions to the back of her mind. She was sitting on Ranger's lap and she was suddenly aware that he was aware of her. "I have to leave in a few minutes. Julie wants to see her mother and I can't send her down there alone. I need to be part of the conversation with her and Rachel."

"I know," Stephanie said. "Julie was just here and she told me."

"I don't want to go, Stephanie." He bent his head and placed his lips on hers in a gentle kiss. She twisted to move her body in closer to his and he got serious with his kiss. His hands slid up her neck and under her hair, but his fingers wouldn't slide through. He pulled back and sighed. "Better get a handle on this, Babe. Morelli wants to talk to you and I've put him off as long as I can."

"What should I tell him?"

"The truth…everything that happened to you last night as you remember it. He's not a fool and he's glad Montara is dead. Right now he's pissed at the DEA who is trying to come in and take over his investigation. He's on our side, so just tell him what you know, not what you think."

"Okay." She stood up and started to walk to the bedroom to get dressed.

"Do you need help?" Ranger asked. "I can call Ella."

"You could help," Stephanie said.

Ranger stood from the chair and ran his hand over his brow and she noticed he looked tired. He'd probably been up all night. "I can't help you," he said. "If I help you I won't leave, and I have to leave. Julie is staying for a couple of days, but I'll be returning tonight on the red-eye. I'd like to see you tomorrow." His stare was direct and she didn't look away.

"I'd like that, too."

"I'll send Ella over to help you. Bobby thinks the residual effects of whatever you were drugged with will be gone before the day is over." He turned and walked from her apartment.

Forty minutes later Stephanie walked into the conference room on five. Joe was sitting, drinking coffee with Lester and Tank.

"Here she is," Lester said. "The woman whose knee should be registered as a lethal weapon." His tone was jovial, but his eyes were serious. He was assessing and watchful and Stephanie knew Joe had been thorough in his questioning. She matched his tone.

"It was my foot, not my knee," she said. "I mashed his parts with my foot." Lester and Tank each slipped a hand down to cover themselves protectively and Stephanie allowed herself a small grin. Joe looked at her solemnly and she knew his questioning would be intense. He looked good, but like Ranger he looked tired and Stephanie thought he probably had been working all night.

Joe shot a look at Lester and Tank. "Is there someplace we can talk privately, Steph?" he asked her.

"My office." She turned and things swam before her briefly, but then righted themselves. Her episodes of dizziness were subsiding and she hoped Bobby was right in his thinking all this would soon go away. When they entered her office she automatically sat behind her desk and Joe took a chair facing her. "This doesn't seem right," she said. She got up and moved around the desk and took the chair next to him, turning it so they were facing.

They were alone and Joe reached out and took her hands in his. "How are you doing? Are you really okay?"

She nodded. "I was peeved when I learned you and Ranger had made a deal for me to stay behind a desk and off the streets, but now I'm thinking it was a good thing. I didn't do so well last night."

Joe snorted. "Whatever you inhaled last night must have been a depressant. You should be feeling good. You beat the crap out of him, Cupcake. You fractured his skull, and even though you were under the influence, that had to be a home-run swing. And then you completely crushed his balls."

"His penis was ugly."

Joe burst out laughing. "I can't speak for it before, but it was after you'd finished. You've earned new respect down at headquarters, especially from some of the younger guys who've heard the stories, but have never seen you in action."

Stephanie smiled because she knew he was trying to make things comfortable for her. There were questions he was going to ask that she couldn't answer. She didn't want to be responsible for taking anyone's life, but in this instance it would be easier for everyone if she had. Lester was good, and apparently so was Rock, but the thought of Naldo getting caught in crossfire when he was already unconscious was hard, even for her, to believe.

"Did I kill him?" she asked. She knew the answer, but she found herself hoping Joe would tell her she did.

"No, the gunshot through his heart killed him. Ballistics reports aren't back, but I'm betting it was a RangeMan bullet that killed him." Stephanie looked closely at him and he sighed.

"Look, Steph. This isn't the first time this has happened. The evidence supports the story I've been told. I work with evidence and I have to base my report on what I'm told and what I can prove. My gut tells me there is more to this, but I can't go there without proof. Do you have anything you can add that I haven't heard from Lester and Madrid?"

"I don't know exactly what you heard," she said, "but after I escaped, Bobby brought me here. I don't have completely clear memories, I'm sorry. Where is Rock, anyway?"

"Rock?"

"I mean Madrid," she said. "I haven't seen him at all."

"I left him with his DEA buddies," Morelli said. "They're all over this. Bottom line is we are going to be able to prove Montara was the serial killer. We found something that resembled an altar in one of the rooms in that house. It'll take forensics a while, but I'm betting the blood stains we found will match the victims we think Montara killed. Lester and Madrid had a shootout with men they can't describe and Montara was killed in the crossfire. We've got a lead on one of the men because someone dumped him at Helene Fuld, bleeding and shot up. He will survive and he will lead us to the rest of Montara's group, but that will all be handled by the DEA."

"I've learned something from this, Joe," Stephanie said. "I'm getting old. I want this all to be over and I want to settle down to my nice research job again."

"I understand. I'm ready to get off the street myself. I'm in line for a promotion and Maria wants me to take it. I think I'm going to. Fifteen years in homicide is enough. Things change for all of us, don't they?"

Their conversation morphed from professional to personal. They discussed their families and his plans with Maria. He hugged her and left her with a kiss on the cheek and she was left with his words, "things change for all of us."

Things had changed recently at RangeMan. Rock was a new addition and presumably he would stay. Julie was part of her father's life now and Julie's father was once again part of Stephanie's life. There was a knock on her office door and Lester walked in with a smirk on his face.

"Delivery for you, Beautiful." He set an enormous bouquet of orange roses on her desk and winked at her before he walked out. She stood and stared at the bouquet for a moment. She tried to count but lost track. There must be two dozen roses. She pulled the card free from its holder and opened the envelope. Her legs buckled and she sank into her chair as she read.

_The florist told me orange roses signify desire. I desire you. C._

Things were indeed changing. Ranger was giving her evidence that he would be her transitional man. The breath whooshed out of her as she realized she'd made a horrible mistake. The truth washed over her and left her trembling. She didn't want Ranger to be her transitional man. She wanted Ranger to be her man.

**A/N: I swiped the idea of orange roses from another fanfiction writer, my friend and sometimes writing partner, latetolove. In her story **_**A Total Eclipse of the Heart**_**, Ranger gives orange roses to Stephanie signifying his desire. I've never been able to get over that. Orange roses are now my favorite. It's a great story and if you haven't read it I recommend it.**


	19. Chapter 19

**I use them for fun and not for profit.**

**Chapter 19 **

Ranger's office was dark. Stephanie didn't know what she had expected. He was probably upstairs in his bed. He couldn't have had much sleep last night returning on the red-eye and she doubted he'd had any the night before. She passed by his office and entered hers, depositing her purse in the bottom drawer of her desk as she sat down to check her email. Her inbox was littered with a dozen or more new emails, but one drew her attention. She immediately clicked on the one with the blinking exclamation point beside it. It was sent with high importance and it was from Tank.

As the email opened she closed her eyes. What now? Did Ranger not make it back from Miami? She'd used up a year's worth of patience waiting for this to happen, and the thing was the longer they waited the more sure she was she'd made a terrible mistake in thinking she could handle a short term physical relationship with Ranger. Slowly she opened one eye and sighed in relief. A staff meeting, in the conference room, starting five minutes ago.

She hurried from her office and made her way down the short hall. She slipped inside unnoticed as a group of men were clustered at the other end of the long conference table. Ranger was absent. She noted that immediately. Tank was at the head of the table looking at the group of men. He looked up and acknowledged her with a slight nod.

"I'll take next Monday," Lester said to the other men.

"Damn," Bobby said, "Monday would work better for me. Can't you sign up for Tuesday, Santos?"

"No," Lester said, punching Bobby on the arm. "I don't want your sloppy seconds."

"What's going on?" Stephanie asked. "Do I need to sign up for something?" The room silenced.

"Everybody, sit down," Tank said. "I've got a couple of things Ranger wants me to go over." Stephanie and the men did as he instructed. The group consisted of Lester, Bobby, Stephanie, Hal, Cal, and Vince. Tank picked up the sheet of paper the men had been crowding around.

"As most of you know, Rock will be joining RangeMan full time. He was introduced as a new employee over a week ago, but he was working undercover. That op is over and so is his tenure with the DEA. Ranger wants him to work a full three months as a BEA and then he will move him to the PI sector. It is the plan for him to eventually head up RangeMan PI, as he has an extensive background in information gathering for the DEA. When he makes the transition into the investigation side he will work closely with Stephanie."

One by one, the faces of the men turned toward her. This shouldn't have been surprising news for any of them. She was head of research and the two departments would be closely intertwined. She had considered getting a PI license and hoped maybe she could do some field work, although her recent experience might have her rethinking that.

"Are you okay with this, Stephanie?" Tank asked. "Ranger indicated if you had major objections he would reconsider his offer to Rock. He wants to make sure everyone here is on the same page."

"I'm fine with it," she said.

"Give me that sheet," Lester said, pointing at the paper Tank was still holding. "I'm signing up twice. Rock's gonna know he can't put Beautiful in danger."

"What?" Stephanie was confused. "What is that paper?"

"It's a list," Tank said. "Rock wasn't forthcoming about all the aspects of his op. He forgot to mention his brother was a dead-ringer for Ranger. Ranger wants to give him a second chance, but he has to be taught a lesson. He put you and Julie in danger. You needed to know Naldo was Ranger's doppelganger."

"And the list is for teaching him a lesson?" she asked. She didn't know why she'd needed to know about Naldo. She thought the list probably had to do with teaching Rock a lesson about full disclosure. She shouldn't have figured into the picture at all.

"Yes," Lester, Bobby and Tank spoke in unison. She stood and walked down to Tank and before he could react she grabbed the sheet of paper from his hand.

"This is a sign-up sheet to spar with Rock!" She looked at the paper and saw that every day for the next two weeks was listed on one side of the page. Next to it were signatures of men signing up to, presumably, teach Rock a lesson.

"This is crazy," Stephanie said. "You can't sign up for a chance to take Rock to the mats. He could be hurt."

"I might be, but I might do some damage as well." Stephanie spun to see Rock, dressed in RangeMan black standing in the doorway.

"So you know about this?" she asked him shaking the somewhat crumpled paper in her fist.

"Yes," Rock said. "I do. I discussed it with Ranger and I agreed to it. I purposefully kept Naldo's appearance from people here because I was afraid it would compromise my, uh, investigation. I might be able to explain it better in private, Angel. Can I talk to you about it in your office?" He looked toward Tank and Tank nodded.

"Are you dismissing me from this meeting, Tank?" Stephanie asked. The color in her cheeks was high and she knew the men were surprised at her reaction.

"Yes," he said. "I think Rock has something he needs to say to you."

Stephanie turned and walked from the room not looking to see if Rock followed her. She had to stop and slow her breathing. She was getting herself so worked up she was ready to burst into tears and that wouldn't do. She dropped into her desk chair and watched Rock walk through her door.

"Shut the door, please," she said to him. She pointed at the chair across from her. "Sit and give me a minute." He did as she said and she made an effort to understand why she was so angry. After a minute of silence she looked up to see Rock staring at her with concern in his eyes.

"If I understand this correctly, the guys of RangeMan are signing up to take their turns beating you up because you didn't come clean and could have caused people to be injured. Is that right?"

"Yes," he said. "I agreed to it. It's necessary if I want the men to trust me. I need to be part of the team. And you are overlooking one thing. I'm not going to be injured. I can give as good as I get."

"Ha! You've obviously never sparred with Tank."

"Angel, I want to work here, and I want to work closely with you. If that's going to happen the air has to be cleared."

"And you think making yourself available to have the crap beat out of you is the solution?"

"I do, and so does Ranger."

"It's a Neanderthal, macho, barbaric thing to do," Stephanie said, "but my objection isn't because of those reasons. It's because Lester, Bobby and everyone else on this list have some half-baked chivalrous idea they're protecting my honor. I can protect my own honor."

"There is a reason I didn't tell anyone that Naldo was Ranger's double. I wanted him dead. I've researched it to the best of my ability. Naldo didn't just pick Trenton randomly, I'm sure of it, but I can't find any evidence he even knew of Ranger's existence. He knew I was nearby in Newark and he wanted to bring me into his life…because he wanted me dead. I thought if I told people about the resemblance it would get in the way of my killing him, and I, well…" His voice trailed off. She knew what he had been going to say. He killed his brother. Ranger knew, Lester knew, and probably Tank. Morelli had suspicions.

"Did you think his resemblance would keep RangeMan from letting you go undercover?" Stephanie asked.

"I thought it was a possibility. I wasn't prepared to jeopardize my plans, so I didn't tell people." He stood, "I need to get back downstairs. I'm a full time BEA now and Howdy and I have several skips to go after. I'm glad, Angel, that you got away from Naldo. I couldn't live with myself if he'd hurt you."

"And that brings us back to this damn list," she said. "I need to talk to Tank." They walked from her office together, Rock turning toward the stairs as she made her way back to the conference room.

Tank was still seated at the head of the table, but several of the men had left. The meeting had obviously broken up after her departure. He looked up at her questioningly.

"Where's Ranger?" she asked.

"Upstairs. He'd been up for almost forty-eight hours by the time he got back from Miami. He's sleeping in this morning."

"Not for much longer," she said. She turned and headed toward the stairs and with each step her temper grew. When she stood in front of his door she realized she had no key-fob. She rapped on the door and stood back to wait. Ranger was going to get a piece of her mind. His stupid punishment for Rock had undone years of effort on her part to get the men to treat her as an equal. He was going to pay.

There was no sound from the other side of the door. Stephanie doubled up her fist and turned her hand sideways to pound on the door with the heel of her hand. There was still no sound. She was turning to go down and retrieve her keys when the door opened and she swung around to face Ranger.

He was wearing only silk boxers. His hair was mussed and there were dark circles under his eyes. He had a way past five o'clock shadow and she forgot why she was there. Her eyes met his briefly and then dropped taking in the beautiful velvety skin. She slid her gaze over the ripples of his abdomen, past the ridge of his obliques, which were bisected by a trail of dark silky hair which disappeared beneath the low slung waistband of his boxers. She swallowed to keep her heart from jumping from her throat, where it was pulsing haphazardly, as her gaze continued downward to the well-muscled thighs showing beneath his boxers, all the way down to his feet.

His beautiful feet, with beautiful toes, ten beautiful toes to be exact. And then she remembered why she was there.

Stephanie pulled her gaze back to his face. There was the beginning of a smirk. He was enjoying her perusal of his body.

"Babe."

"Don't. Babe. Me." Her temper was back, all the sparks which had shot off like random fireworks had reconvened into one large bonfire, and she thought smoke might be coming from her ears. She waved the sheet of paper in front of him. "Where's the sheet for men to spar with me?" she asked.

She wasn't sure if it was due to lack of sleep, or if he was just ignoring her, but he remained motionless. She smacked him open-handed on the shoulder in an attempt to make him step back from the door. He was impervious. She hit him again, this time with a little more force. And then he sighed. Her temper bubbled over.

She didn't make a move, but her knee itched to rise. "Don't." His one-word warning stopped her thought of doing him any real harm. He reached out and pulled her into the foyer and swung the door shut behind her.

"You're upset," he said. "Why?"

"Because of this!" She thrust the sign-up list in front of him. He took the sheet of paper from her hand and looked at it briefly.

"This is none of your concern, Stephanie."

"The hell it isn't." She was standing in the foyer face to face with a nearly naked Ranger. She hadn't thought temper would be her primary emotion. She took a momentary mental time-out. Was she inventing this temper fit as a way to put distance between her and Ranger? Hell no! She was pissed and it was time he heard why.

"Ranger, how can you condone this? You're letting your men bully and beat up a new employee because of some misconceived idea that he put me in danger?"

"Many of the men have protective feelings regarding you. If I do nothing they will take out their feelings of anger toward Rock in a way that's…less healthy. This way they have the opportunity to face him in a controlled environment and it will ensure he is accepted as one of the team."

"That's asinine."

"It's not, and I repeat, it's not your concern."

"Fine," she spat. "Then where's my sign-up sheet? I disobeyed orders. I had been officially removed as Rock's partner. You were partnering with Rock until Montara was caught. I acted in a way that was counter-productive and I placed Julie in jeopardy…unintentionally, but I did it anyway."

"I believe you placed yourself in danger, specifically to protect Julie. I…appreciate that. I also think this is my company, my decision, and _not your concern_."

"You can't dismiss what I did so easily," Stephanie insisted.

"I can, but if you insist on taking the blame for something that wasn't your fault I'll have Tank put you on report and place a copy in your permanent file. I'm not going to encourage the men to take you to the mats."

"Ranger, this is important, and you're not taking it seriously. I need to be treated just like everyone else."

"No, you don't. You need to be treated equally, but not the same, because you are not the same. You are…unique." He was staring at her in a way that made her forget everything but his eyes. And when she looked at his eyes she saw the fatigue lingering there.

Her anger was gone, replaced by an unsettled feeling. "I should go," she said. "You're tired. You should go back to bed."

"I am going back to bed," he said, "but not alone." He reached out toward her and she let him pull her into his arms.

His kiss was tentative, testing, and she wondered if he was having second thoughts despite what he'd said about not going to bed alone. She let his mouth cover hers and when his tongue probed, she pulled back instead of letting him enter. "Don't you think we should talk first?" she asked.

He swung her up in his arms and started walking toward the bedroom. "No, I don't think we should talk at all." She wrapped her arms around his neck and turned her face into his chest. She knew they were heading to his bed, but she had no idea what direction they were headed in afterward and she decided just to give herself up to the moment. It was something she had been waiting for ever since she knew it was over with Joe. It was something she'd hoped for and despaired of ever happening. They would talk, eventually.

Ranger set her on her feet next to the bed and began undressing her, calmly and methodically. When she was left in nothing but her bra and panties she reached out her hand to stop him. "My turn," she said and she placed her hands on the waistband of his boxers which were straining over an erection she wanted to see. She tugged the silk fabric over his hips and let it puddle on the floor and she stared at him for long moments. He was beautiful. No other word did him justice. As he stepped out of his boxers he reached out to do the same for her.

"Naldo wasn't really your mirror image," she said. He laughed and she let her eyes move up from where they'd been focused.

"So you said," he replied. He leaned in to nuzzle her neck while his hands unclasped her bra. They were both naked and Ranger turned to pull her down onto the bed with him, but she resisted. He raised an eyebrow questioningly.

"There's something I want to do," she said.

"Anything," he said.

"When I came into your bedroom the day I had the report on Rock I saw this bed, and the curtains. I imagined us in this bed, with the curtains closed. The world was far away and it was just us and…"

Ranger walked to the far side of the bed and pulled the draperies until they met in the middle. He came back to Stephanie's side and did the same. He held the curtains open slightly. "Climb in," he said and she did.

It was like the first time. Fast, frenzied, and no time for finesse. She was as ready for him as he was for her. He rolled on top of her and slid into her with no foreplay, no warning, and she arched to meet him. His control was nonexistent and when he called her name in the throes of his climax she slipped over the edge of her own abyss.

Later, when they had recovered, he nuzzled his lips against her neck. "What about all day?" he asked.

"All day?"

"Yes. I said I was good for all night, but it's a long way 'til sunset. Is all day okay?" She laughed and rolled over on top of him. They stayed in their private cocoon all day, leaving only when it was absolutely necessary to do so and then they climbed back inside the curtains for more. Finally, they slept.

It was late in the afternoon when Ranger woke her with a gentle shake. "Go downstairs," he told her. "Get dressed and I'll take you to Jerome's for dinner."

"You want to go out for dinner?" she asked.

"I do. I want to sit across a table from you and remember this afternoon. I want to dance with you and anticipate the night."

"That sounds romantic," she said.

"I'm a romantic kind of guy."

"Not normally."

"It's my new normal. I want to go out to dinner with you, dance with you and come home and make love to you, all night. It's what people in relationships do."

She was still for moment, wanting to ask, but afraid of the answer. "Are we in a relationship, Ranger?"

"We've been in one since we first met. You said transitional, Babe, and we're transitioning."

Her heart fell and it showed in her eyes. He swooped his head low and kissed her. "_We're_ transitional, Babe. Not me. We are transitioning into lovers. I won't be used to prime your pump for other men. There will be no other men. Just me." He wrapped his arms tightly around her and they lay together unspeaking for a few moments.

"Any questions?" he said softly into her ear.

"Yes. Does Jerome's have a nice dessert menu?"


	20. Chapter 20

**As always, I use them for fun and not for profit...sigh.**

**Epilogue-Three Years Later**

Stephanie lifted her curls off her forehead and frowned at her reflection. The strands of grey were few, but they had a mind of their own and stood out at odd angles around her face, creating a little halo. Next time she saw Mr. Alexander she was going to have to go for the full color. She sighed.

"Better get a handle on that, Babe." She started and turned around coming face-to-face with Ranger.

"How do you do that?" she asked. "I was looking in the mirror and you still managed to sneak up on me."

"You were absorbed with your grey hair."

"Yes, I was," she said. "I'm going to have to do something about it."

"I like it," he said. "If you do something with your grey hair maybe I'll have to do something with mine." Ranger was in teasing mode today. She looked closely at him. His dark brown hair was shot with a few strands of grey and there was a little silver in his sideburns. It made him look more handsome than ever. And then his words sunk in. She pictured Ranger in Mr. Alexander's salon, a pink cape covering his shoulders and foils sticking out helter-skelter from his head. She burst out laughing and punched him on the shoulder.

"Mr. Alexander would love to get his hands on you, but I think your grey is sexy," she told him. "Why is it that men get better looking as they age and women just look…older?"

"Aging is a part of life, Babe. You're more beautiful now than you were the day I first saw you, but if your grey bothers you, cover it up."

"I just want to look my best for you," she said.

He put his arms around her and backed her against the sink. He tilted his head and brought his mouth down close to hers. "I think by now we've established our feelings for one another are based on way more than a physical attraction," he said, breathing into her mouth. "Normal signs of aging don't make you any less attractive to me. Wear the blue dress tonight and you'll see just how attractive I find you. We might have to leave early." He leaned in and kissed her and Stephanie forgot about the grey hair, the blue dress and even the evening he'd planned.

When they broke apart he looked at his watch, "I've got to go. I'm busy all day. What about you?"

"Nothing too unusual," she said. "Mostly just routine this morning. I have a meeting to go over some new data with Rock, and then this afternoon I have an appointment…" Stephanie let her voice trail off because she could see Ranger was preoccupied.

"You're very excited about this evening, aren't you?" she asked.

"Yes," Ranger said. "We have a lot to celebrate and I have a couple of surprises."

"I know one of them," Stephanie said.

Ranger raised an eyebrow and stared at her for a moment. "Julie doesn't know, and Scott only suspects, so keep it to yourself."

"I will," she said huffily. "I can keep a secret. I think what you are doing is a good thing and I can tell you are excited about it. And we do have a lot to celebrate. Julie graduated in three years, summa cum laude, with a degree in forensic chemistry, no less. And Scott is leaving his short, but successful career with the Army. They're starting a new phase of their life."

"Get a ride to Jerome's with Julie and Scott," he told her. "I'll be back late-afternoon to get ready, but I have something to do prior to dinner. I'll meet you at the restaurant." He pulled her in for another kiss and he was gone.

Stephanie turned back to the mirror and continued her self-evaluation. She had a trim figure, but she knew the dire warnings of her mother and grandmother about her Hungarian metabolism had come true. Two weeks ago she noticed how tight her jeans were and she'd stepped on the scale to see proof of six extra pounds. She'd been avoiding the morning donuts with Lula and Connie ever since and she'd been secretly exercising. One day alone, she climbed the stairs in the RangeMan building bottom to top three complete times. She'd managed to drop the weight and her reflection in the mirror was satisfying, but she now knew how hard it was going to be to keep herself in the kind of shape she needed to stay in for Ranger. He always said, "That stuff'll kill ya, Babe." It was more likely she'd die from the consequences of trying to keep the effects of 'that stuff' from showing across her ass.

She didn't normally keep things from Ranger, and she knew she'd tell him about her talks with her mother and her appointment, eventually. In the past week, she'd had a serious conversation with her mother and now she knew the complete story. When the Hungarian fat-burning genes expired, menopause set in early. She shuddered. Menopause. She could barely stand to think the word, let alone say it. She was too young for the weight gain and the hot flashes, but it was beginning. It had happened to her grandma and to her mother and the signs were irrefutable. It was why her mother had pushed her so hard at an early age for Stephanie to produce grandchildren. That hadn't happened, but Stephanie was okay with that aspect of her life.

What was happening to her now was troubling. Would it affect their lovemaking? If it did, would Ranger still stay with her? She was going to the doctor to get information and a plan of attack on her declining hormones, and as much as she tried to remain upbeat, she was upset. She wasn't young anymore, and neither was Ranger, but she was the one who was going to have to deal with the changes of aging.

Julie looked over at her husband Scott as Stephanie walked the short distance across the parking garage toward them. "Dad told us to take the Cayenne tonight," Julie said to Scott. She turned to look at Stephanie and a wrinkle marred her normally smooth forehead. "Are you alright?" she asked Stephanie. "You look pale."

"I'm fine," Stephanie said. "I have a headache, but I've taken something for it."

"You look great," Julie told her and walked forward to hug her best friend. In the years since she'd come to Trenton, Stephanie had become an important part of her life. She looked to the older woman for advice and frequently for companionship when Scott had been deployed. Julie had a surprise tonight and she couldn't wait to tell Stephanie the news, but she was going to wait. Her father had to be present to hear the news as well.

"Thanks," Stephanie said looking down at her blue dress. She'd worn it because she knew it would please Ranger. Just a couple of weeks ago it would have been tight, but tonight it skimmed over curves and showed just enough décolletage to be interesting. Stephanie took a moment to look at Julie. Ranger's daughter had the same head turning quality her father had. She was tall, graceful and exuded a confidence beyond her twenty-one years. Stephanie resolutely pushed her problems to the back of her mind and gave herself up to enjoying the celebration for Julie.

Julie and Scott were relaxed and happy and the conversation was lively as they drove to the restaurant. Scott was officially out of the Army as of the previous day and he seemed comfortable with his decision. He kept sliding glances to Julie, and Stephanie wondered if they'd rather have spent the evening at home alone. They'd spent the last three months together though, with Julie doing an internship in Seattle while Scott had been stationed in Ft. Lewis, Washington with his Special Forces unit. Now they were back in Trenton and their life was getting ready to take a big turn. She knew about the surprise Ranger had in store for Scott and she thought he'd be more than happy.

When they pulled up to Jerome's, Eddie was waiting to park their car. Stephanie and Ranger had become semi-regular diners at the restaurant where Ranger still remained a silent partner. Stephanie's door was opened by one big meaty hand and Eddie held out the other to her to help her from the Cayenne. "Good evening, Mrs. Boss," Eddie said. "Ranger beat you guys here and he's inside at your table already."

"Thanks, Eddie," Stephanie said. She smiled back at the good-natured giant. "Ranger's not really your boss, you know, and I'm not Mrs. Anybody," she told him. He winked at her and walked forward to move the car to the parking lot.

They found Ranger inside, but he wasn't at a table. He was in the lobby waiting for them.

"I thought you were going to be late," Stephanie said.

"No, not late. I had business that kept me from arriving home in time to make it here," he said. He came close to Stephanie and leaned down to kiss her briefly. "You wore the dress," he said quietly and his eyes told her he approved. She gave him a little smile and once again resolved to forget everything but the celebration.

Their meal was delicious and Stephanie found it wasn't a difficult task to enjoy herself. Everyone seemed relaxed and happy, but Stephanie was aware of the tight coil of excitement Ranger was tamping down. Outwardly, he seemed totally normal and in complete control, as always, but three years of living with him had enabled her to discern things most people never saw. He was excited, biding his time. She knew about his surprise for Scott and although it was going to be most likely welcome news, Stephanie didn't think that totally explained Ranger's excitement.

After dinner they opted to forego dessert. Another trade-off, Stephanie thought. A nice-fitting dress, but no tiramisu. As the four lingered over coffee Ranger took control of the conversation. "We're here to celebrate your accomplishment, Julie. Graduating in three years with academic honors is rare. I'm very proud of your hard work."

"Thank you," Julie said. "I'm a little proud of myself, too." She turned and smiled at Stephanie. "None of this would have been possible without you, Stephanie. Thank you."

"Without me?" Stephanie's surprise was evident.

"Yes," Julie said, smiling broadly. "If you hadn't gone to find Tinley Hicks that night I'd still be going to school part-time. Tank insisted that the money for Tinley's capture should be mine. Rock agreed, and so I used the money to pay for most of my tuition. I only have a few student loans and as soon as I find a job I can start repaying them."

"About a job," Ranger said. "I know you've indicated you would be interested in working for RangeMan in a career position, as opposed to the part time office job you've been doing." Julie's eyes widened in anticipation and Stephanie frowned. Maybe she didn't know what Ranger's surprise was after all.

"I do have an opening at RangeMan," Ranger continued, "but I have someone else in mind for the job." Julie was almost as adept as her father at hiding emotions, but Stephanie saw the disappointment. "You are going to be a brilliant scientist," he told his daughter, "and you would be wasted at RangeMan. I've contacted an associate of mine, and although you're not obligated, I've arranged an interview for you with the FBI crime lab director in Philadelphia. He's very interested in you, if you're interested in a career with the FBI." Julie's face broke into a mirror of the smile on her father's face. Stephanie remembered Julie's shy confession to Joe Morelli years before that she hoped to someday work for the FBI.

Scott put his arm around his wife and leaned in to give her a quick kiss. "You're going to go for the interview, right, Babe?" Seeing the pride on his face and hearing him call his wife Babe, Stephanie found she was happy for the first time all day. She loved this young couple. She hadn't known about that part of Ranger's surprise. He didn't ever ask for favors, but he'd obviously pulled some strings to get an interview for Julie. Julie's happiness about the interview was evident and Stephanie thought the next surprise would please her, too.

Ranger turned to Scott. "I have a position open at RangeMan. All new hires start with bond enforcement and then move into areas of specialization. I'd like you to be part of my team, Scott."

Scott didn't hesitate. "I'd like that, too, sir. I can start tomorrow." Ranger smiled at Scott's eagerness. Scott turned his head to Julie and they exchanged a silent communication. Julie nodded at him. "I'm very excited to work at RangeMan," he told Ranger, "and I need a job soon, because…"

"Because I'm pregnant!" Julie blurted out, interrupting Scott. "I'm two months pregnant!" The couple's smiles were wide and they weren't disappointed with the reaction from Ranger.

Ranger's chuckle was low. "I'm going to be a grandfather," he said, pleased with the idea. Stephanie was quiet, but when Ranger looked at her she smiled at him. He thought her eyes looked suspiciously bright, and he made a quick decision.

"This seems to be a night for surprises," he said. "I thought I'd surprise you with a job for Scott and the news of an interview for you, Julie, but you've surprised us as well with your news. I had one more surprise tonight, but I intended to share it privately with Stephanie. I'm thinking now might be a more appropriate time for it, though." He reached his hand into his jacket pocket and pulled out a black velvet box. "I'm going to be a grandfather. Stephanie, will you let me make an honest grandmother out of you?" He opened the box and Stephanie saw a sapphire and diamond ring nestled inside. "I love you, Babe. Will you marry me?"

Stephanie was speechless. She'd had no clue Ranger had anything like this in mind. She'd thought about it, secretly, but they'd never discussed it. Being in his life was good and she wasn't willing to risk it by demanding a lifetime commitment, so she'd never broached the subject with Ranger…and he'd never discussed it with her. It was unbelievable he'd pick tonight of all nights. Her eyes filled with tears and she looked around the table to see three faces staring at her. Julie and Scott, so filled with joy and wanting her to share in their joy, and Ranger, looking seriously at her. He could tell something was wrong. She didn't want to ruin this night so she wiped away her tears, pushed back her chair and ran for the ladies' room.

She pushed open the door and collapsed on the fainting couch, letting her head fall forward into her hands as the sobs overtook her and racked her body. She felt a pair of arms come around her and lift her gently from the couch. Ranger sat down and pulled her onto his lap. She tried to control her sobs, but they kept intensifying. Ranger held her close and rubbed soft circles on her back, trying to relieve the tenseness of her muscles.

"You sh-sh-shouldn't be in here," she said when her sobs had diminished. "It's the l-l-ladies' room."

"I'm not leaving you," Ranger said. "What's wrong?"

"You s-s-said you were going to make a grandmother out of me, and…"

At that moment they heard a flush and the sound of a stall door slamming closed. The sounds of running water and then a hand dryer kept her silent for a moment. As a red-faced woman hurried by them on her way out, Stephanie leaned in and whispered something in Ranger's ear.

He stood. "Stay here. I'll go get your bag and wrap and tell Scott and Julie we're leaving." He walked from the ladies' room back to the table where Julie and Scott sat, a look of concern on their faces.

"Is she okay?" Julie asked.

"Yes," Ranger said. "We're leaving, now. It seems this has been an evening for surprises and there is one more. Julie, you are going to become a sister, apparently about the same time you become a mother." He turned and left the couple staring at him with open mouths.

Later, sitting side by side on the big leather couch in their apartment, Ranger said, "And you thought you were going through menopause why?"

"I had symptoms," Stephanie said. "I had hot flashes and I was hungry all the time and I wasn't having my period, and I gained weight. I talked to my mother and she told me both grandma and her went through the change in their mid-forties."

"Babe, you gained weight because you went on a donut eating binge with Lula and Connie. Weren't you suspicious when you stopped having your periods?"

"No," Stephanie said. "We were being careful. I don't know how this happened."

Ranger gave her a wolfish smile. "I could show you."

"I'm serious," she said. "I don't know when it happened. You're not upset?"

"I am surprised, but certainly not upset. I want an answer, Babe. Will you marry me?"

"No."

"I don't like that answer. I'll ask again. Will you marry me?"

"I can't. People will think you're marrying me because I'm pregnant."

"And you care what people think?"

Stephanie was quiet for a moment. Her eyes opened wide and she said, "No…Yes." Ranger frowned.

"No," she repeated. "I don't care what people think. And yes. Yes, I will marry you."

Seven months later, Stephanie Mañoso became a mother and a grandmother, on the very same day. When Ranger saw his wife with their son nestled in the crook of one arm and their grandson in the other he smiled and told her softly, "Babe, you never disappoint."

The End

**A/N: Thanks to jago-ji, for her timely return of my chapters. She relentlessly finds my errors, inconsistencies and refines each chapter from an interesting rough draft to a readable post. Any errors in this story belong to me…and they are probably changes she suggested, but I forgot to make. Thanks also to everyone who took time to leave a review. If I neglected to respond, it was unintentional.**


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